Tonogayato Garden is located in Kokubunji, about 25 km from Tokyo Station. The garden is now owned by the Tokyo Metropolitan Parks Department but was originally owned by the Iwasaki family, of Mitsubishi fame.

The Iwasaki family, especially Yataro Iwasaki (1835-1885), the founder of Mitsubishi, was very interested in gardening. It was Yataro who bought Rikugien and Kiyosumi gardens when they were in a state of disrepair after the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate, and spared no efforts to restore these former daimyo gardens back almost to their former glory.

In 1929 the Iwasaki family purchased a little over 2 hectares here in Kokubunji for a summer retreat. At the time Kokubunji was still far enough from the city to have kept a country atmosphere.

Now, of course, the city has grown and is still expanding, but when you alight at Kokubunji Station and walk across the road to the garden you enter a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere. The evergreen golden chestnuts (tsuburaji, Castanopsis cuspidata) and the mokkoku trees (Ternstroemia gymnanthera), which Yataro Iwasaki was so fond of, help to reduce unwanted sounds from beyond the garden. Incidentally, the golden chestnut trees are now in flower; the catkinlike flowers, each 5-10 cm long, have a distinctive sweet fragrance.

The garden was made on two levels, and is part of the well-known Musashino plateau. The garden designer skillfully created an English-style garden on the upper level; as you walk toward the back the mood gradually changes to that of a countryside garden. Then, past the bamboo grove, you descend some steps to Jiro Benten Pond, followed by a short climb back up to the tearoom Koyo-tei (autumn leaf-viewing pavilion), and the feeling has become distinctly Japanese.

On the well-kept lawn there are some majestic specimens of the Japanese red pine (akamatsu, Pinus densiflora). These red pines are under attack throughout Japan (except Hokkaido) on two fronts: First, the polluted air in cities also weakens red pines.

Second, a virus carried by a species of the long-horned beetle (matsu-no-madara-kamikiri, Monochamus alternatus), which originated in the United States, has devastated much of the red-pine population in the Kansai and Seto area. To preserve the pine trees expensive chemicals are used to combat the disease, but with little positive result.

The nice one-story wooden building used for the garden office is the only relict of the old summer house that the Iwasaki family would have stayed in when they visited the garden on holidays. During the Iwasaki's time the house was two stories. Certainly the present wooden building was designed to blend in with the landscape.

Down at the bottom of the garden the well-maintained bamboo grove makes a refreshing sight. This is moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis), planted here when the garden was made, but it clearly thrives in the moist soil this garden has to offer. Moso bamboo is the largest of the timber bamboos. In the Arima area of Kobe and other places around the country the once well-maintained bamboo groves have run wild through the old satoyama (locally managed woodland) plantations, creating an impenetrable jungle. Moso bamboo was at one time popular for making household furniture, but due to cheaper imports from outside Japan the industry here collapsed.

In this month of May the wisteria (fuji, Wisteria floribunda) makes its beautiful display of mauve flowers, which hang from the branches in large numbers. You may still be in time, too, to see the Japanese lady's slipper orchid (kumagaiso, Cypripedium japonicum). This terrestrial, herbaceous orchid inhabits bamboo groves and cryptomeria forests; the plant in this garden is reckoned to be over 100 years old.

From the eastern U.S. comes the evergreen mountain laurel or "calico bush" (Kalmia latifolia), introduced to Japan in 1915. Its flowers are carried in corymbs, the individual flowers measuring 20-25 mm. There are numerous man-made cultivars, but the normal color range is from white to deep rose. Ideal as a container plant, kalmia's requirements are similar to rhododendron: moist atmosphere, partial shade, and acid soil rich in humus. Please note, though, that its leaves and nectar are poisonous.

The satsuki azaleas (Rhododendron indicum) are in full bloom, with their various shades of pink and white flowers. In June the firefly flower (hotaru-bukuro, Campanula punctata) will bloom. This perennial grows to a height of 35-80 cm. Solomon's seal (naruko-yuri, Polygonatum falcatum) is another native Japanese perennial; growing to 60-80 cm, it's ideal for dappled shade beneath small trees.

There are over 60 different species of san-ya-so (mountain and field wildflowers) planted throughout this garden. In September the bush clover or hagi (Lespedeza thunbergii) begins to flower in a flower tunnel similar to the one in Mukojima garden.

Keep an eye out for the shishiodoshi near the Koyo-tei teahouse!

Tonogayato Teien, two minutes' walk from Kokubunji Station. Open daily 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission 150 yen. Visitors over 65 can enter free. No parking available. For more information call (042) 342-7991.

Garden news

I went along to the first-ever Tokyo Garden Show during Golden Week, which was held April 8-May 7 in the grounds of Meiji Shrine Outer Garden. As expected, the standard of the model gardens was very high, though only one, the "Natural Song" garden designed by Paul Smith in conjunction with Wittermann & Co. and De Batt of the Netherlands and Jobek of Germany took the trouble to provide easy-to-read scientific and katakana names.

The gardens were great to admire, but there were not enough of them! I feel that there were far too many mini-garden shops selling goods that can be purchased anywhere in Tokyo. Why pay 1,800 yen to go garden shopping? After the show I went along to Shinjuku Gyoen, where the entry fee is 200 yen and there is always something of interest. I do hope that for next year's show the organizers will set aside more space for gardens.