Shokado Garden and Art Museum
The Shokado Garden features picturesque landscapes, traditional tea houses, other historic structures related to the culture of tea (chanoyu), and an art museum. Over 40 species of bamboo, about 300 camellia bushes, maple trees, and many other plants flourish throughout the 22,000-square-meter grounds, ensuring that the spacious garden has something in season to enjoy year-round.
The garden is named after Shokado Shojo (1584–1639), a Buddhist monk who lived in one of the temples of the Iwashimizu Hachimangu shrine-temple complex on nearby Mt. Otokoyama. He was an accomplished tea master and artist and was recognized as one of the top three calligraphers of his time. The inner section of the garden contains Shojo’s thatched-roof hermitage and the guest hall of his retirement temple and is a designated National Place of Scenic Beauty.
Yawata City gained ownership of the hermitage and temple guest hall and created the Shokado Garden in 1977 to preserve the buildings and honor Yawata’s cultural heritage. Re-creations of three historic tea houses representing different stages in the evolution of tea house architecture were added to the outer garden and are regularly used for tea gatherings and cultural events.
The permanent exhibition at the Shokado Art Museum is focused on the life and art of Shokado Shojo. Various other exhibitions are held throughout the year to display artifacts connected with Mt. Otokoyama and Yawata’s history and culture.