NABUNKEN NEWS vol.46

Open door garden - Asuka Historical Museum

　Do you know that the front garden of the Asuka Historical Museum is admission-free? As the museum has a free parking area and resting places in the garden, tourists to Asuka can take a little rest here. However, this garden provides not only resting places but also places of interest differing from those within the museum.

　Incidentally, the museum exhibits a variety of stone articles inside, including the Mount Sumeru stone (Mt. Sumeru: in Buddhism - the highest mountain rising in the center of the world) and the stone stature is designated as an important cultural asset. However, these articles were originally placed in the garden, and water ran through them in ancient times. Furthermore, some parts of them were fractured and missing when they were originally excavated. Therefore, we set out repaired replicas in the garden, and made water run through them, in the same manner as in the ancient times. In addition, other replicas of Demizu-no-Sakafune-ishi (a sculptured stone in the shape of a sake-vat) and the charming Kame-ishi (lit. tortoise stone) are displayed, attractively decorating the garden.

　The replicas are not the only lure of the garden. You can enjoy cherry blossoms in spring, hydrangeas even in rainy June, verdurous turf in summer, and bright red leaves in autumn. Sometimes, you may encounter unexpected visitors to the garden such as little birds, hares, etc. The garden also serves as the space for various events or as a makeshift store during the remodeling of the in-house museum shop, while providing a beautiful natural environment.

　Please do not hesitate to come to the garden. We have created a range of plans for entertaining you in the garden; and then, if you get interested in the original articles after seeing their replicas in the garden, feel free to enter the museum.

(NARITA Satoshi, Asuka Historical Museum)