Gensui Prince Yamagata Aritomo (1838–1922) was an important figure in the politics and military affairs of the Meiji Period. Born into an old
samurai family and devoted to military affairs, he traveled to Europe in 1869 as part of a delegation of experts to study the
Prussian Army, and when he returned he helped re-organize the
Imperial Japanese Army on the Prussian model. He became Minister of War in 1873, and was twice
Prime Minister of Japan, from 1889 to 1891 and from 1898 to 1900. The completion of the
Lake Biwa Canal in 1890 brought a plentiful source of fresh water to the
Nanzen-ji temple domain area in Kyoto. Yamagata, who was a great lover of gardens, purchased land in the area and made plans to build a villa and garden using water from the canal and its associated irrigation network. The then-
Count Yamagata (he was elevated in the
Kazoku to being a
Marquis in August 1895, and a
Prince in September 1907) began work on the gardens in 1894, but stopped shortly afterwards due to his involvement in the
First Sino-Japanese War. Yamagata ordered work to resume when the war was finished this time enlisting the help of the notable garden designer
Ogawa Jihei (1860–1933), also known as Ueji, who had built the garden of the recreated
Kyoto Imperial Palace nearby. In addition to the garden, he built a tea house, a traditional Japanese house, and a modern western-style house, complete with a lawn in the English style, added in 1898. ==Description==