Tojo Residence is a historic villa in Matsudo City, Chiba Prefecture, built by Tokugawa Akitake, the last lord of the Mito Domain. The residence is designated as a National Important Cultural Property of Japan, while its historic garden has been designated as a National Place of Scenic Beauty.
Located on elevated ground overlooking the Edo River, Tojo Residence offers visitors an opportunity to learn about the life of a member of the Tokugawa family during the major transition from the Edo Period to modern Japan. It is also recognized as one of the “100 Views of Mount Fuji in the Kanto Region”.
Tojo Residence was completed in 1884 (Meiji 17) and became the private residence of Tokugawa Akitake after his retirement from public life.
The buildings are officially designated as the Former Tokugawa Family Matsudo Tojo Residence. The adjacent garden is known as the Former Tokugawa Akitake Garden, or Tojo Residence Garden, and is designated as a National Place of Scenic Beauty.
During the Edo Period, Matsudo-juku flourished as a post town along the Mito Kaido, an important highway connecting Edo with the Mito area.
Matsudo also retains other connections with the Mito Tokugawa family. At Matsudo Shrine, for example, there is an old ginkgo tree associated with Tokugawa Mitsukuni, the second lord of the Mito Domain.
Tojo Residence was built on a hill overlooking the Edo River, taking advantage of the elevated location and its spacious views. It was designed as a home where Tokugawa Akitake could live after his retirement.
Tojo Residence is primarily a wooden single-story complex with portions of the buildings having two floors. The total floor area is approximately 725 square meters.
The complex consists of nine buildings and 23 rooms, eight of which are designated as Important Cultural Properties.
The Front Reception Building contains a spacious guest room of approximately 10.5 tatami mats and an eight-tatami study. Traditional decorative elements can be found throughout the interior, including openwork ranma transoms and bamboo craftsmanship.
These details provide a glimpse into the refined lifestyle of the Tokugawa family during the early Meiji Period, when traditional Japanese architecture was increasingly coming into contact with Western influences.
The Former Tokugawa Akitake Garden, also known as the Tojo Residence Garden, is a distinctive Western-style garden adjoining the residence. It is notable for having what is regarded as the oldest surviving lawn in Japan.
Tokugawa Akitake spent time in France and attended the Paris International Exposition. Drawing on his experiences in Europe, he incorporated Western garden ideas into the design of the grounds.
At the same time, the garden makes use of traditional Japanese concepts such as shakkei, or “borrowed scenery,” taking advantage of its elevated position and views of the surrounding landscape.
The garden is centered around a large lawn, with gently shaped artificial hills arranged around it. An inu-maki tree serves as one of the symbolic features of the garden.
The garden is surrounded by woodland containing trees such as Japanese chinquapin, Japanese sawtooth oak, and konara oak. The result is a distinctive landscape that combines Japanese vegetation and spatial concepts with Western-style lawn gardening.
The garden was developed over a period of approximately six years beginning in 1884, creating an unusual and historically valuable fusion of Japanese and Western garden traditions.
Restoration work was carried out using photographs taken by Tokugawa Akitake as important historical references. In May 2018, features including earthwork, stepping stones, and trees were restored to recreate the appearance of the garden during the residence’s historic period.
The history of Tojo Residence began with its completion in 1884, after Tokugawa Akitake had retired. The residence became a place where he could pursue his personal interests and spend time with his family.
Akitake enjoyed activities such as hunting, pottery, and photography. He also maintained a close relationship with his older brother, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the last shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate.
In 1892, Akitake’s son Tokugawa Takeyoshi became a viscount, and the residence subsequently served as the main home of the Matsudo Tokugawa family.
Tojo Residence is valuable not only as an architectural monument but also as a place that preserves memories of the people who lived there.
The lives of Tokugawa Akitake and his family, his relationship with Tokugawa Yoshinobu, and their activities at the residence offer a glimpse into the experiences of the Tokugawa family during a period of profound change in Japanese history.
Akitake’s experiences in Europe and his interest in photography, art, and technology also reflect the growing international connections of Japan during the Meiji Period.
The following buildings of the former Tokugawa family residence are designated as National Important Cultural Properties:
The Tojo Residence Garden is designated as a National Place of Scenic Beauty. The garden’s historic lawn, trees, earthworks, stepping stones, and views demonstrate the unique meeting of Japanese and Western garden traditions during the Meiji Period.
Today, the garden provides beautiful scenery throughout the seasons and remains an important example of Japan’s evolving architectural and landscape culture in the late 19th century.
The residence is surrounded by Tojogaoka Historical Park, a publicly accessible park covering approximately 2.3 hectares. The park has been selected as one of the 100 Selected Historical Parks of Japan.
Within the park are the Tojo Museum of History and the traditional Japanese tea house Shountei, allowing visitors to explore the area’s history beyond the residence itself.
The Tojo Museum of History displays materials related to the Matsudo Tokugawa family and the family of Tokugawa Yoshinobu.
Its collections include numerous materials relating to international exchange during the final years of the Edo Period and the Meiji Period. Exhibits connected with the Paris International Exposition visited by Tokugawa Akitake are particularly relevant to understanding his experiences abroad.
The museum also displays photographs taken by Tokugawa Akitake and Tokugawa Yoshinobu, providing a fascinating look at their interests and daily lives.
Parking is available for approximately 46 passenger vehicles and 6 buses. The convenient location near Matsudo Station also makes the site relatively easy to visit without a car.
Tojo Residence offers a rare opportunity to see how a member of the former ruling Tokugawa family lived after the end of the shogunate. Its preserved buildings and historic garden reveal both the traditions of the past and the new influences entering Japan during the Meiji Period.
The residence is particularly interesting for international visitors because Tokugawa Akitake’s experiences in France and at the Paris International Exposition influenced the garden and his interests. His passion for photography and his relationship with Tokugawa Yoshinobu also provide a more personal perspective on the final generations of the Tokugawa family.
With its Important Cultural Property buildings, scenic garden, historical park, and museum, Tojo Residence is an excellent place to explore the intersection of Japanese history, traditional architecture, Western influence, and the daily life of the Tokugawa family.