Murin-an

Murinan is the former villa of Yamagata Aritomo, a politician active in the Meiji and Taisho eras, located in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture. The site is triangular and covers about 3,100 square meters. It consists of a sukiya-style main house, a tea house, a two-story Western-style brick building, and a Japanese garden. Access is about a 7-minute walk from Keage Station on the Kyoto Municipal Subway. The garden—often praised as a masterpiece of modern Japanese landscape design—was created by the 7th-generation landscape gardener Ogawa Jihei and is designated a National Place of Scenic Beauty. Reflecting Yamagata’s intentions, the entire design is oriented around the Higashiyama range, expressing a narrative landscape that moves from satoyama (village hills) scenery to a deep-mountain waterfall. In 1903, a meeting was held in Murinan’s Western-style building to decide on the opening of the Russo-Japanese War. Attendees included Ito Hirobumi, Komura Jutaro, Katsura Taro, and Yamagata Aritomo. This event is known as the “Murinan Conference” and is an important episode in modern Japanese history. Enjoying a stroll through the garden while reflecting on this history is highly recommended.