Denjirō Ōkōchi

大河内山荘 大河内傳次郎(伝次郎)

Ōkōchi Sanso Garden : Hidden Gem

When I walked through the bamboo forest in Kyoto Arashiyama, I reached the Ōkōchi Sanso Villa and Garden at the end of the street. The sign wrote “Entrance Fee 1000 yen”. I hesitated to pay, but my mother was determined to see it, so we went in.

Ōkōchi Sanso was a private villa of the Japanese actor Denjirō Ōkōchi (1898-1962). He was quite famous during the silent film era. He looked like an ordinary man, with very thick glasses. He was rather a perfectionist in acting, so he used a real sword to perform more realistically. Other actors were scared of Ōkōchi swinging real swords because they did not trust his eye vision.

When he became older, he took many small roles. His fans were not satisfied to see him in support roles, nevertheless Denjirō Ōkōchi shined through on screen. You can even spot him in some Kurosawa and Ozu movies.

Ōkōchi bought the land in 1931, and spent over 30 years constructing his own garden villa. Here, you meet a grand view of Arashiyama and Mount Hiei, see colors of pine, cherry, maple trees while hearing the sound of Japanese Uguisu bird. The garden also has a running stream of the Hozu River. After his death, his family donated the villa to the city in exchange to preserve his name and the garden.

The villa serves Matcha tea (included in the entrance fee). You can sit and watch outside from the actor’s exquisite tea ceremony room (Takesui-an). You will understand Ōkōchi’s passion on landscaping based on Zen philosophy. You will not regret visiting this place!

From Kyoto, Japan, by maplepress.ca