Located in Yokkaichi Port, YOKKAICHI HARBOR Onoe Villa is a restaurant that was renovated from the private residence of Kennosuke Kosuge, a prominent figure in the Meiji era. This historic building, where you can enjoy sophisticated modern French cuisine and a wedding hall, is surrounded by a Japanese garden with views of the changing seasons.
Kennosuke Kosuge was a prominent figure who devoted himself to the development of Yokkaichi during the Meiji era.
Kennosuke Kosuge was a businessman active from the Meiji Era to the Showa Era who contributed greatly to Yokkaichi's port development and industrial development. born in Kasadera, Nagoya, in 1865, he belonged to a wealthy farming family, and from an early age he enjoyed playing shogi, learning under the master chess player Soin Ito. In 1921, he was nominated as a Meijin by the Ki-in, and after being active in the shogi world, he devoted himself to the family business of trading in rice hulls, lumber, and stocks. He later moved his base of operations to Yokkaichi and devoted himself to the development of the region.
Of particular note is the fact that in 1936 he became interested in preserving the scenic beauty of Yunoyama and proposed that the Oishi Bridge wooden bridge, which had become dangerous, be replaced with a modern concrete bridge, donating the entire construction cost. The bridge was 2.15 m wide and 22 m long, with an arch structure, and was designed in a purely Japanese style. It was completed in 1937 and was celebrated with great pomp and circumstance.
In his later years, he devoted himself to Chinese poetry and calligraphy and frequently visited Yunoyama. In 1944, he passed away at the age of 79 at his villa in Izu-Atami. Kosuge's contributions to the community, including the old city hospital built with his donation, are demonstrated.
We have been working on the garden since May 2024.
I felt that the garden of Onoe Villa is a complex space where four different elements are in perfect harmony. As I reflect on the thoughts of Kennosuke Kosuge and the garden's creator, it emerges that these elements are integrated around a pond.
When we proposed garden management for a fairly large site, etc., we divided the garden into four separate gardens and explained how to manage them.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
The names of the gardens were given by us because we thought they should be easy to understand when we made the proposal.
Welcoming Garden The garden path at the entrance plays an important role in quietly welcoming visitors. The impressive stone pavement raises expectations for the beauty of the garden. In the future, maintenance of the joints of the stone pavement and balancing of the trees are desired.
BEFORE
Weeds were growing in the joints of the cobblestone pavement along the parkway, and the trees were growing out of balance and some were overcrowded with dead branches and trees that were about to fall. We began by weeding the entire area, removing ivy, etc. from the trees, and pruning and trimming shrubs and trees before caring for the trees.
After work
Weeds and other weeds growing on the cobblestone pavement and sidewalks were removed by hand to reduce their proliferation, and hedges were lightly pruned. Some of the medium and tall trees are weakening, so we are gradually removing dead branches as we monitor their condition.
Before
after
We mainly groomed the overgrown undergrowth and lightly pruned the maple trees.
Before
It may be easier to manage the bamboos by keeping them trimmed, but the natural appearance of the bamboos would be lost, so we trimmed only the edges of the bamboos and kept the height of the bamboos as we saw how they looked.
after
We would like to restore the original beauty and functionality of the garden and provide a peaceful space for visitors, while managing the garden in a way that makes the most of its individual characteristics. We have quite a few construction photos that we have taken, so we will upload them little by little.