Keitaku-en (Osaka), Little stone bridge in the Japanese garden

Keitaku-en

Tennoji's Japanese Garden

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Keitaku-en is a Japanese garden of Chinese inspiration located in Tennoji Park in the south of Osaka. A vast pond crossed by a red bridge occupies its center. Created at the end of the 19th century, it was bequeathed to the city in 1926.

🚧 Temporarily Closed

Keitaku-en is closing from 2024, April 1rst to spring 2025 for renovation works.

In the south of Tenno-ji ward, Keitaku-en is a typically Japanese stroll garden with a pond, water lilies, well-maintained century-old shrubs, a handful of small bridges and even a tea house.

In the background, the small Cha-usu-yama hill completes the scenery: the mound is believed to be a kofun, an antic tomb built in the 5th century. It was also the place of the last battles opposing the Tokugawa’s and the Toyotomi’s in 1614 and 1615.

Keitaku-en (Osaka), Plum trees in bloom and Cha-usu-yama hill

During the Edo period, the piece of land belonged to the Sumitomo family, and was later bequeathed to Osaka City in 1926. Keitaku-en Garden was built over a ten-years span, and its design is due to Jihei Ogawa (1860 – 1933), also known as Ueji, a famous landscape gardener whose work was characterized by a modern style. He also designed gardens for statesman Kinmochi Saionji in Tokyo, for Heian Jingu shrine and Maruyama Park in Kyoto.

The pond and its island are overwhelmed in green: there are also a few sakura 🌸 blooming in spring, and it is an ideal spot for hanami, the seasonal contemplation of cherry blossom.

The whole place is very quiet and offers a break among the buildings of the electric Osaka, near Shinsekai district and the Abeno Harukas tower.

⬇️ Further down this page, discover our visit guide in Keitaku-en and around.
By Kanpai Updated on May 29, 2024 Keitaku-en