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In Japan, where the beauty of the Nature is treated as something
sacred and valued as nowhere else in the world, you'll find
a great number of parks. Tokyo boasts 7,000 parks of different
size and style, but the Shinjuku Gyoen National Park is considered
to be the best among them. It occupies the vast territory
of 58.3 hectares. There are about 20,000 trees in the garden
and 1,500 of them are large cherry trees of 75 varieties.
Traditional Japanese, French and English landscape designs
are represented in the park. Shinjuku Gyoen National Park
is exceptionally beautiful; the fact that it is the favorite
place of the official reception of the Japanese government
can witness it.
At the end of the 19th century, the Shinjuku Imperial Botanical
Garden was redesigned as the Shinjuku National Garden by a
French landscape architect Henri Martine. The opening ceremony
of the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden was hold in 1906. During
World War II the park was greatly damaged. In 1949, after
certain restoration work, the park was given to the nation
by the Imperial family.
From the middle of February to the end of April every year
the park is fantastically beautiful. During the cherry blossom
season the park becomes one of the most popular and crowded
places in the country for hanami (cherry blossom viewing)
parties. There are 75 species of cherry with different blooming
period, so the visitors can enjoy various kinds of cherry
blossoms for quite long term. The colors vary from white to
deep purple.
In the first part of November thousands of people gather in
the park to admire the blooming of chrysanthemums cultivated
according to traditional methods as well as new techniques.
The chrysanthemums were introduced into Japan from China around
the eight century. The Chrysanthemum Exhibition was an annual
court function performed at the Akasaka Imperial Villa from
1878 until 1929, when it was moved to Shinjuku Gyoen. During
the war the exhibitions were not held. But the chrysanthemum
stock wasn't lost and in 1949 full-scale gardening resumed.
On the territory of the garden a greenhouse with a considerable
collection of tropical plants is situated. The first greenhouse
was built in 1875. At that moment it was non-heated and occupied
the territory of 100 square meters, where different western
fruits and vegetables were cultivated. By 1896 the construction
of the heated greenhouse in western style was completed. Tropical
plants and fruits that grew there were used for the Imperial
court function. After World War II, when the garden was turned
into national, the greenhouse was continually converted from
plants cultivation house into ornamental plants house. Because
of this the Palm Room, Subtropical Room and Tropical Water
Lilies Room were constructed. Nowadays, around 128 families
650 genera 2373 species of tropical and subtropical plants
from all over the world are cultivated in the greenhouse.
During Meiju and Taisho era the garden was a favorite walking
place for the Imperial family where they also played golf
and tennis. The Imperial rest house was constructed in 1896.
It was a modern building in western Stick Style (the architectural
style that came into fashion in the USA in the 1860s). In
Japan, there are few existing western style wooden houses
built in Meiju era, so this house is considered to be an important
cultural property. In 2000, assiduous repair works were carried
out and the interior of the house was restored carefully.
Since 2001 on second and forth Saturdays the Imperial Rest
House is open to the public.
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