Edo Period Stroll Gardens

During the Edo Period, power was won and consolidated by the Tokugawa clan, who became shogun, and built the political capital in Edo-jo castle, which later became Tokyo. During this time, Japan, except for the port of Nagasaki, was virtually closed to foreigners, and Japanese were generally not allowed to travel outside of the country. The Emperor remained in Kyoto as a figurehead leader, while the political centre of Japan was in Edo. This remained the case from 1600 till 1868. Most of the gardens of the Edo Period were promenade gardens and they were usually much larger than earlier gardens. The promenade gardens of the period made extensive use of borrowing of scenery (shakkei). Vistas of distant mountains are integrated in the design of the garden. Edo promenade gardens were often composed of a series of meisho, or famous views. As a result of the Tokugawa policy of Sankinkotai, modern Tokyo has a number of excellent gardens to explore and enjoy.