Katsura Imperial Villa
A stroll garden around a pond in Kyoto, with pavilions and teahouses seen from different angles.
Prince Toshihito laid out the garden by the Katsura river as a place for gatherings and tea. One walks round the pond along a path, and at every point the garden appears in a new way.
The villa has been of great importance for Japanese architecture. It was admired by the architect Bruno Taut in the 1930s and became a model for modernists.
Materials: Pond, stepping stones, teahouses, pines and moss
Manufacture: Laid out from around 1620 by Prince Hachijō Toshihito in Kyoto.
The pond with islands and stone bridges.
The teahouses placed at different points around the pond.
The path of stepping stones leading round the garden.