3-076-537 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Korakuen is a beautiful landscape garden and Okayama's main attraction. Along with Kanazawa's Kenrokuen and Mito's Kairakuen, Korakuen is ranked as one of Japan's three best landscape gardens. It is located just beside Okayama Castle, which can be seen from the garden as "borrowed scenery". The local feudal lord ordered the construction of Korakuen in 1687 as a place of entertainment for the ruling family and a location for receiving important guests. Occasionally, the public was permitted to enter the garden. In 1884, a few years after the end of the feudal era, Korakuen became the property of Okayama Prefecture and was opened to the public.