161217-0039 - Japanese Garden

Two young women sit in front of a stone lantern in a garden in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. A third woman, holding a parasol, stands in the back.

The private garden was on the grounds of a villa (別荘庭園) in Nogeyama (野毛山) owned by the Mogi family (茂木家). The rich merchant family ran, amongst other businesses, the successful Nozawaya department store.

The garden was therefore known as the Nozawa or Nozawaya Garden (野沢庭園、野沢屋庭園).

Twice a year, the garden was opened to the public and people would line up to admire the plum blossom in spring and the chrysanthemums, visible in the back of this scene, in autumn.

The garden didn’t survive the Great Kanto Earthquake (Kanto Daishinsai) of September 1, 1923 (Taisho 12). Where once the garden was, now stands Yokohama Municipal Nogeyama Zoo (野毛山動物園).

Original title: S 80 Pine grove in the Nozawaya’s garden, a rich merchant in Yokohama.