【Nationally Registered：Tangible Cultural Property】Former Nakasone Family Gardens

The Nakasone family of the Chudo-Uji Clan descends from Nakasone Tuimya Genga, a powerful leader in Miyako Island from late 15th century to early 16th century. The members of the high ranking clan are named with the character for “Gen (玄)” and have held important positions in Miyako.
As told by the owner, the gardens were created by Mr. Chosho Itosu, a landscaper from Shuri, when the house was renovated in 1929.
The garden, laid out in a Chisen-Kaiyushiki style, has a pond with an arched bridge to the left which leads to stone steps over the hills at the back of the pond and the garden path leads to another bridge to the right. The arched bridge crosses a Karenagare, or a dry stream, and to the left behind the cycad in the center is a waterfall. The most distinctive feature of this garden is in the sharp curves of the pond. In the pond are five small islands which make the complicated outlines of the landscape even more complex. The garden is laid out unlike any other.
In Miyako, aside from the Former Nakasone Family Gardens, there are no other gardens that remain at the residential sites of the warrior class, making this site very import to understand the landscaping culture and techniques of gardens before the war in Miyako.