Stone Wall 高石垣

Official explanation

The ornamental wall just beyond the entrance to Shoseien is made of a variety of disparately sized and shaped stones, tiles, and other construction materials. These were salvaged from throughout the garden after it and all of its buildings were lost to fire in 1858 and 1864. Many of the stones are discolored and distorted from being exposed to extreme heat.

A small hedge of trifoliate orange trees (kikoku) grows in the vicinity. The trifoliate orange has been a symbol of Shoseien for centuries and is what inspired the garden’s nickname, Kikokutei (“Orange Villa”). Kikoku have long been used as barrier plants because of their density and strong, curved thorns. They were planted along the perimeter of Shoseien to keep intruders out when the estate was established in the mid-seventeenth century as a retirement residence for the head priests of Higashi Honganji Temple.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.