Saito Family Garden is a historic Japanese garden in Maeyachi, Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture. Created during the late Meiji period, the garden was once part of the residence of the Saito family, a prominent local family and one of the major landowning families in the Tohoku region.
The garden was designated a National Place of Scenic Beauty on July 14, 2005. Its landscape combines the former residence, garden spaces, ponds, hills, springs, and natural terrain into a harmonious setting that reflects the aesthetics of Japanese gardens during the modernization of Japan.
The garden suffered damage during the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011 and was temporarily closed. It reopened to visitors on July 31 of the same year. Although some areas and buildings remain inaccessible, the garden can currently be visited free of charge.
One of the defining characteristics of Saito Family Garden is the way the residence and the hills behind it are treated as one continuous landscape. The main hall serves as a central viewpoint, while flat garden areas and ponds are carefully arranged around it.
This design allows visitors to appreciate the changing scenery throughout the year. Cherry blossoms add color in spring, fresh green foliage appears in early summer, autumn brings brilliant foliage, and snow transforms the garden into a quiet winter landscape.
Rather than being a garden made up only of carefully planted features, the landscape makes effective use of the existing terrain. The surrounding hills form a natural backdrop, creating views that change as visitors walk through the grounds.
The hills behind the garden lead toward Mount Asahi, which rises to approximately 173.8 meters. From the higher ground, visitors can enjoy expansive views over the Ishinomaki Plain and toward the Pacific Ocean.
The elevated viewpoint provides a striking contrast with the tranquil garden below and demonstrates how the Saito family incorporated the surrounding natural landscape into their living environment.
The area around the main hall contains a variety of carefully arranged landscape features. These include a cut-stone stepping path in the eastern garden, a large pond in the southern garden, an artificial hill, and an island made from rocks.
These elements create different perspectives depending on where visitors stand. The combination of water, stones, vegetation, architecture, and surrounding hills is characteristic of traditional Japanese landscape design.
Hosenkutsu is a natural rock cave containing a spring that serves as one of the water sources for the garden pond.
The secluded cave and its spring add a sense of mystery to the grounds. Water plays an important role in the composition of the garden, connecting the natural environment with the carefully designed landscape.
At the top of the surrounding hills is Mount Kaiun, a scenic viewpoint associated with the Saito family. The site also contains the remains of Muichian, a former retreat where the family could enjoy the surrounding natural landscape.
The name “Kaiun” means “opening good fortune”, reflecting the family’s appreciation of the hill and its scenic surroundings.
The history of the Saito family can be traced back to Saito Iki, who served as a retainer of the Kasai clan during the closing years of the Warring States period.
After the Kasai clan was defeated during Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s Oshu Reorganization, Saito Iki left military service and became a farmer. The family eventually settled in Maeyachi, where the younger brother of the seventh-generation head, known as Zenku-ro, became the first head of the branch that developed into the prominent Saito family of Maeyachi.
The family’s economic foundation grew over successive generations. The second-generation head, Zenbei, began a sake-brewing business, while the fourth-generation head, Zenjiemon, served as a senior village administrator.
By the time of the sixth-generation head, Zenuemon, the family had attained the status of an hereditary senior village administrator. Its landholdings eventually became so extensive that the Saito family was regarded as one of the three great landowning families of the Tohoku region.
The family’s holdings were said to rank second in Japan after the Honma family of Sakata in Yamagata Prefecture. From the Meiji period until the postwar agricultural land reforms, the family played a significant role in the political, economic, and cultural development of Miyagi.
The ninth-generation head, Saito Zenuemon (1854–1925), built a considerable fortune through businesses including sake brewing and money lending.
He ended the family’s sake-brewing business in 1889 and subsequently established companies. He also entered politics and was elected in the Second General Election of Members of the House of Representatives in 1892.
Saito Zenuemon was also known for his support of education, academic research, industry, and social development. He established the Saito Hoonkai, through which he provided substantial financial support for research, industrial development, and improvements to society.
Despite maintaining a relatively modest lifestyle, he donated significant amounts of money to local projects, including elementary schools, public halls, and railway construction. These contributions helped lay foundations for the development of the local community.
He also had a deep appreciation for nature. He named the hill behind his residence Mount Kaiun and built Muichian there, creating a retreat from which he could enjoy the changing scenery throughout the year.
Saito Family Garden was developed mainly from the 1890s through the early 1900s. Following the closure of the family’s sake-brewing business, warehouses and other storage buildings on the estate were reorganized, and the garden was developed together with structures such as Seirakutei and Muichian.
The garden makes skillful use of the existing terrain. Its design is relatively restrained rather than excessively ornate, yet it possesses a strong sense of dignity and elegance.
This combination of natural topography, architectural features, ponds, stone arrangements, and views toward the surrounding hills makes the site an important example of a modern Japanese garden.
Following the postwar agricultural land reform in 1948, the Saito family’s extensive landholdings were greatly affected. The main residence, Seirakutei, Muichian, and other structures were eventually dismantled, partly because of the financial burden associated with payments to former employees.
However, important parts of the original garden survived. The main garden area, the main hall, a miso storage building, and other storehouses remain in their original locations.
These surviving elements help convey the appearance of the Saito estate during its most prosperous period and allow visitors to understand the relationship between the residence, garden, and surrounding landscape.
Saito Family Garden was officially designated a National Place of Scenic Beauty on July 14, 2005.
The designation recognizes not only the beauty of the garden itself but also its historical and cultural importance. The site preserves the landscape of a prominent regional family and illustrates how wealthy landowners in the Meiji period incorporated traditional Japanese garden aesthetics into their modern-era residences.
73-1 Kurosawa, Maeyachi, Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Saito Family Garden is approximately a 10-minute walk from Maeyachi Station on the JR East Ishinomaki Line and Kesennuma Line.
Admission is currently free. Following the damage caused by the 2011 earthquake, some buildings and areas may remain unavailable for entry, so visitors should take care when exploring the grounds.
Saito Family Garden offers visitors an opportunity to experience a peaceful historic landscape while learning about the remarkable history of one of Miyagi’s prominent landowning families.
The garden’s appeal lies in the way architecture, ponds, rocks, hills, springs, and seasonal vegetation come together as a single landscape. From cherry blossoms and fresh greenery to autumn leaves and winter snow, each season creates a different atmosphere.
The surviving buildings and garden features also provide a glimpse into the lifestyle of the Saito family and the social changes that transformed Japan from the Meiji period through the postwar era.
For travelers interested in Japanese gardens, traditional architecture, local history, and the cultural transformation of modern Japan, Saito Family Garden is a quiet and distinctive place to explore in Ishinomaki.