The foundation of Katsura Rikyu was made by Prince Toshihito of the Hachijo family. He was a grandson of Go-Yozei Emperor, but didn't succeed to the Imperial throne. As the Imperial family did not have any political power at that time (the Samurai period,) they had little to do but write poetry, play their musical instruments and perform the tea ceremony etc.
So this palace has several tea rooms, a special place for seeing the moon, and a huge garden with a pond & a boat. (Noble people didn't walk around the garden, they used a boat!)
Can you see the mountain? This garden was designed to include that mountain. In Japan we call it 'Shakkei 借景.'
Shaku（借） means 'borrow,' so they 'borrowed' that mountain as a part of scenery.
Isn't it beautiful?? The weather was perfect!
Over the window, it's hard to see, but there's a rice field. This rice field was created just for this room. Nobles enjoyed seeing farm people work and rice grow.
In Autumn, this rice field must have been beautiful in golden colour. Nobles contemplated it from this room.
This room was closed during winter. When the rice field was empty, there was no reason to visit here.
The blue and white wall is a kind of symbol of Katsura Rikyuu. Many Japanese remember it when they hear about this palace.
The blue colour was derived from a very precious colourant, and it was donated by a famous Samurai family, Maeda in Kanazawa. The design of this wall is very simple, just a repeat of squares. But it gives a very refreshing impression.
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