If you aren’t told, you might not know that one of the National Places of Scenery Beauty is just minutes from JR Nagahama Station. Keiunkan (慶雲館) is the spot that was built to receive the Emperor Meiji’s visit in the late 19th century. Apart from the gorgeous garden, it is also one of the spots in Shiga Prefecture to adore plum blossoms in early spring.
Keiunkan’s History
In late 1886, the officials of Nagahama were informed that the emperor and empress of Meiji would make a brief stop at Nagahama for transit to Nagoya. While it was certainly an honor to the city, no facility was suitable to accommodate them.
Learning the news, Asami Matazō (浅見又蔵), a successful local businessman, promptly started the construction of Keiunkan with his money on the 3rd of November. The construction was extremely rushed as the royal couple was scheduled to arrive on the 21st of February the following year.
Thanks to everyone’s effort, the reception hall was completed in time just hours before the royal arrival at 1 pm. Taking a brief break at Keiunkan, they headed to Nagoya by taking the 1:45 pm train.
Keiunkan is the name given by Itō Hirobumi (伊藤博文), the first Prime Minister of Japan, who accompanied the emperor and empress. After the royal couple’s visit, it was used as both Asami’s private villa and Nagahama’s reception hall.
The location of Keiunkan was determined to be Daitsū-ji Temple’s (大通寺) annex. The year after it was designated as a National Historic Site in 1935 (the statue was canceled in 1948), it was donated to Nagahama City. Since then, it has been used as one of the city’s facilities for pot plum exhibitions and meetings. In the early 2000s, the garden was renovated, allowing it to be designated as a National Place of Scenery Beauty in 2006.
Keiunkan’s Elegant Interior Decoration and Gorgeous Garden
The gorgeous Japanese garden is nicely maintained in a 6,000-square-meter space. What will catch your attention as soon as you walk into Keiunkan is a 5-meter tall stone lantern. It will probably be the most enormous stone lantern you have seen in your life.
Close to the lantern, there is a statue of a sumo wrestler. The guy who had obtained the name of Yokozuna (the highest rank in professional sumo wrestling in Japan) at the time was supported by Asami. So he regularly visited Keiunkan during the Meiji period. Throughout the garden, you will also find many giant rocks here and there, some with Japanese poems engraved.
Keiunkan itself is decorated elegantly internally. As a formal reception hall, several items are exhibited, proving this part of history.
On the second floor, there is a room called Gyokuza no Ma (玉座の間). It is the room where the royals rested.
Back then, with no tall buildings around, it was the perfect place to admire Lake Biwa and Mt. Ibuki. Even now, the two large white chairs they sat on are still in the room. Although you won’t be able to see Lake Biwa, you will get a great view of the garden surrounding the house.
From early January to early March each year, around 90 pots of plum blossoms will make the air inside Keiunkan more pleasant. A few of the plum trees exhibited are over 400 years old and as tall as 3 meters!
Keiunkan’s Opening Hours, Admission Fee, and Access Information
- Keiunkan is open from 9:30 am to 5 pm from mid-March to the beginning of December.
- The last admission is at 4:30 pm.
- The plot plum exhibition is held from early January to early March from 9 am to 5 pm.
- Night time light-up will take place from early February to early March until 8:30 pm.
- The last admission is taken 30 minutes before the closing time.
- The admission fee is
- 300 yen for adults
- 150 yen for elementary and junior high school students
- During the plot plum exhibition, the admission fee is
- 800 yen for adults
- 400 yen for elementary and junior high school students
- Keiunkan is just next to Nagahama Railway Museum and less than a 5-minute walk from JR Nagahama Station’s (長浜駅) west exit.
Discover Other Exciting Attractions in Nagahama City
Nagahama, the second biggest city in Shiga Prefecture, is rich in history and nature. Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s success in becoming the leader of Japan in the second half of the 16th century is said to have started from here.
Apart from the cultural and historical attractions, the city will also excite shopaholics and figurine manias!
For more information, please refer to our article on Nagahama (=ﾟωﾟ)ﾉ.
