A Place Related to Sumitomo’s History ～Osaka③～
Keitakuen Garden
Sumitomo’s ties with Osaka date back to the early Edo period. It all began when the second head of the Sumitomo family, Tomomochi, opened a copper smelter (copper refinery) in Osaka, taking up the family business of copper refining and copper craftsmanship. Since then, Sumitomo has expanded its business mainly in Osaka.
In this issue, we invite you to explore Keitakuen Garden, a historic site linked to Sumitomo, located in Tennoji Ward, Osaka.
Keitakuen Garden is a traditional Japanese garden with a pond in the center, located within Tennoji Park, where you can see one of Osaka’s symbolic landmarks, Tsutenkaku Tower.
It was the garden of the Sumitomo family’s Chausuyama main residence and was designed by Ogawa Jihei VII (also known as Ueji), a leading figure in modern gardens. The garden was completed in 1918 after 10 years of construction. There are three islands, large and small, floating in the pond. The vast garden is designed to allow visitors to stroll around the surrounding forest and enjoy the views. It is home to a collection of famous stones and trees from all over Japan. Ogawa Jihei is a landscape gardener who is credited with establishing the modern style of landscaping, having designed numerous gardens including Heian Shrine Garden, Maruyama Park, and Murin-an.
Chausuyama, adjacent to Keitakuen Garden, was once home to the graves of powerful clansmen and is said to have served as the headquarters of Tokugawa Ieyasu during the Winter Siege of Osaka and of Sanada Nobushige (Yukimura) during the Summer Siege of Osaka.
In 1926, Keitakuen Garden was donated to the city of Osaka by the Sumitomo family.
Due to renovation work, the garden is closed from April 1, 2024 and is scheduled to open in the spring of 2025.
