Tojo System of Satsuma Domain

This area used to be ruled by the Shimazu family as the area head. In the Edo period, the Satsuma domain, considering people were a castle, ruled their country by dividing it into 113 small units. Chiran was one of them. 

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It is the former samurai area as if it were made of beautiful box gardens. Satsuma had a ruling system called Tojo to allot one group of samurai warriors to one of the 113 divided area called “humoto”. Each area was built in the way enemies could not invade it easily.

Stones of the Walls

You can see how high ranked each family had by checking the shape of the rocks of the walls. The square cut rocks belonged to the high ranked family while round smaller stones didn’t.

Roofs of the Gates

Double roofs show the family was high-ranked.

Path Not Straight

The path is not straight, with T-shaped intersections and the curved route. Just like castle paths, it was a defensive device for enemies not to have a good sight.

Inumaki Trees

Inumaki Trees are used for hedges on stone walls. Inumaki is so soft that enemies can’t go up on it. Moreover, it has grows leaves so thickly that the houses can’t be seen through Inumaki.

Syakkei, Borrowed Scenery

The background scenery far behind the garden is used as one of the components of the design of Japanese gardens. In Chiran Samurai Residence Area, the view of Mt. Hahagatake.

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Seven Houses

1 Saigo Keiichiro’s

In the southeast corner is built dry waterfall rocks, which represents a high peak. The inumaki (Japanese yew)hedges trimmed high and low starting from the peak represents the mountains far away. This garden is called “crane and turtle.” The crane rock is in a higher postion, and the turtle is on the ground as if it was floating on the water. The rocks and satsuki azaleas are placed in good harmony. 

2 Hirayama Katsumi’s

This garden uses Hahagatake Mountain as the beautiful background. In the north are built a rock arrangement as the imaginary high peak, and the ridge of the inumaki hedges is the stretched line from the ridge of Hahagatake Mountain. Every corner is appraised as the ideal garden representing the harmony and beauty. You can imagine an small uninhabited island in the ocean and the green land beyond the sea.

3 Hirayama Ryoichi’s

No rock arrangements are seen and all are the plants. Inumaki hedges represent three high peaks and the satsuki azleas in front symbolizes tsukiyama artificial hills. And Hahagatake is used as the background. This garden is a master piece of simplicity.

4 Sata Mifune’s

It is thought to have been built in 1751. This is the most gorgeous and largest garden of all the seven. The dry rock waterfall was made, and in the upper side of tsukiyama is a stone lantern and in the lower flat side is a rock arrangement. When you enter the gate and turn right to the garden in front of the study, you can imagine the waterfall rushing down.

5 Sata Tamiko’s

Big unique rocks are piled up to express the deep mountain valley. You can imagine yourself sailing in a boat in the stream and watching a hermit wizard beckoning to you. The rocks are tuff, which can be easily cut for cows and horses to carry. 

6 Sata Naotada’s

When you go under the gate, you will face the rock board, called Byoubu Rock (folding screen rock). Samurai residences tended to have this rock for the defense reason and also for showing off the prestige of the family. The garden was built in 1741 to 1744. Borrowing the view from Hahagatake Mountain, using the elaborately piled rocks for the tsukiyama with a big one in the center as a waterfall, the garden looks like a good art painting of ink picture. 

7 Mori Shigemitsu’s

Mori Family is the ruling family of the high ranked vassals for the Shimazu family. The house and mortar storage was built in 1741. The beautifully curved pond has strange shaped rocks placed to represent the mountain and peninsular nearby. On the other side is placed a rock with a hole representing the water flow. The rock right to the entrance is the key rock, representing the cloud over the mountain far away.