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| our very economical Mazda Demio - slightly dusted with volcanic ash |
Our
son had to return to Tokyo after a short weekend getaway so we left
Ibusuki around 10 o'clock in the morning and drove him to Kagoshima
Airport for an early afternoon flight. I would inject a word of
praise for our GPS equipped rental car which also turned out to be
surprisingly good on gas. The car was a compact Mazda Demio model
that I was very impressed with. (This is not a plug for Mazda, simply
an observation.) I drove the car for three days (413 km.) and only
filled the tank once in Ibusuki for about $35. The tank still showed
full when I returned the car to the dealer in Kagoshima after driving
120 km. We drove about 533 km. for about $35.
After
dropping our son off at the airport, we headed back towards the city
of Kagoshima, which is now the southern terminus of the Shinkansen,
the Bullet Train, for which we had return tickets back home. Just
before arriving in Kagoshima we stopped off at what was the summer
“home” of the Lord of Satsuma during the Edo Period. I put “home”
in quotes because the property is more like a small palace and
commands one of the most unique backyard views that any amount of
money can buy.—a volcano—Sakurajima.
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| a smoking and belching Sakurajima volcano |
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| main house of Senganen with "borrowed scenery" |
Known
as Senganen (仙巌園),
it is a Japanese style landscape garden built by the powerful Shimazu
clan in 1658 during the Edo Period (1603-1867) when Japan was ruled
by the Shoguns of the Tokugawa clan. The Shimazu clan ruled the Satsuma domain (present day Kagoshima) for almost 700 years until the
end of the Edo Period. The landscape garden uses the usual elements
of a Japanese garden, ponds, streams, flora, rock and stone and, of
course, Japanese style buildings including a shrine, tea houses, and
the main house.
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| there were several of these huge, uniquely shaped stone lanterns strewn about the garden |
These
features can be found in most Japanese landscape gardens, even more
modest ones in ordinary peoples homes. What is astounding about
Senganen is the so-called “borrowed scenery”--a volcano and the
sea—Sakurajima and Kagoshima Bay. As one walks around the property
these elements of borrowed scenery are almost always in view.
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| typically simple tea house for tea ceremonies - the tiny entrance door is designed to show proper humility in preparation for the ceremony |
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| sweet potato flavored soft cream - refreshing after walking around on a surprisingly hot day |
One
thing that caught my attention while strolling around the garden was a lovely bamboo grove. The grove
was obviously well tended, thinned to give it an airiness, dead and
broken stalks removed—a kind of idealized bamboo grove. According
to a posted sign the grove was originally composed of a couple stalks
imported from China. Bamboo, it turns out are not native to Japan.
All of the bamboo currently rampant in Japan are descended from the
the original stalks imported into this grove.
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| Japan's "ancestral" bamboo grove |
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| our lovely view from the "Dreamy Inn" |
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| a slightly distorted view of the Kyushu Shinkansen at Kagoshima Chuo Station |
After
leaving Senganen, we returned our rented car to the dealer in
Kagoshima which was just around the corner from our budget
hotel, another "Dreamy Inn" (see Getting Reacquainted 17). The next morning we boarded the Shinkansen at Kagoshima Chuo
station and returned home.
The
End.
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