Travel Ikegami Plum Garden

Ikegami Plum Garden (池上梅園 Ikegami Baien) is a public garden in Tōkyō's Ōta Ward. The park is located west of Ikegami Honmonji Temple and has a plum orchard and a tea house, cleverly using the elevation difference.

History:

Until the war, this area was the home and the atelier of the painter Itō Shinsui (伊東深水, 1898-1972), but it was destroyed by fire during the war. After the war, it was expanded and became the residence of a Tsukiji ryotei restaurant owner. After the owner's death, the site was transferred to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government on condition that it would remain as a garden, and in 1978 it was transferred to Ōta Ward.

The garden:

Ōta Ward has maintained the garden by planting plum trees, currently 370 plum trees (150 white plum trees and 220 red plum trees). Plum blossoms can be enjoyed from January to March, attracting many visitors. In some years, the trees are illuminated at night, though the illumination was cancelled in 2021 due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Ikegami Plum Garden also has around 800 azalea plants blooming all over the slopes and 50 species of trees, including chestnuts.

Visitors can enjoy the elegant atmosphere of the Seigetsu-an (清月庵), a Japanese-style tea house, and the Chōuan (聴雨庵), a chashitsu (茶室, "tea room") for Japanese tea ceremonies. The Chōuan was originally a teahouse owned by politician Fujiyama Aiichirō (藤山愛一郎); it was donated to Ōta Ward in 1983 and moved there. The Seigetsu-an was a detached house in the residence of architect Kawajiri Zenji (川尻善治). It was purchased by Nakajima Kyōmei (中島恭名), a local ikebana artist, who donated it to the ward. It was later named Seigetsu-an and used as a tea room since 1989.