Ingetsuchi Pond
Ingetsuchi Pond is the heart of Shoseien and is the feature around which the garden was designed. Its name translates to “moon image pond” in reference to the way the moon is reflected on the water’s surface when it rises above the hills to the east.
The pond covers about one-sixth of the garden’s grounds and has two islands. The island to the north is occupied by the Shukuentei teahouse, which was traditionally accessed by a small pleasure boat. Guests would await this boat at the southern end of the pond, where the Sochinkyo teahouse is now, and a bell in a tower on the southern island would announce the vessel’s arrival. The bell tower was lost to fire in 1858 and was never rebuilt.
The southern island has been without structures ever since. The trees and grasses on it give the landscape a natural appearance, and the island and its surroundings have become one of the most ecologically diverse parts of Shoseien. Water lilies grow in the pond around the island, as does mizuaoi (Monochoria korsakowii), a rare type of water hyacinth with bluish-purple flowers that bloom in autumn.