Kobuntei

Kobuntei is a pavilion within Kairakuen Garden. It is said to have been designed by Tokugawa Nariaki, the Mito Domain lord who opened Kairakuen, and you can feel his taste and refinement in many details. It was completely destroyed in the 1945 air raids, but was reconstructed over three years starting in 1955. Kobuntei consists of a two-story main structure and a single-story Oku-goten wing. The name “”Kobun”” is an alternative name for plum blossoms and is said to derive from a story about the Jin dynasty’s Emperor Wu: “”If one devoted oneself to learning, plum blossoms bloomed; if one abandoned learning, they did not.”” True to that origin, it was used as a place to pursue learning and to host poetry gatherings with literati, retainers, and local people. Be sure to enjoy the view from the third floor: you can look over the Tsurunaki Plum Grove across the railway line and beyond to Senba Lake, a particularly grand panorama. Access is by bus from JR Joban Line “”Mito Station”” (about 20 minutes) to Kairakuen, then within the garden; from the front gate, pass through the bamboo grove and head straight through Osugimori, go through the middle gate, and it’s shortly ahead.