Outline

This garden was designed using the slope of the Musashino Highland and the contiguous lower area. The Western-style residence was built on a small hill. The Western portion of the garden was located on the slope and, on the lower level of the grounds, the Japanese garden was created. This property was originally the location of the residence of a famous Meiji Period notable, Mutsu Munemitsu. However, when his second son was adopted into the Furukawa family, it became the property of the Furukawa family (The buildings from the previous era no longer exist).
The currently existing western-style residence and garden was designed by the English architect, Josiah Condor (1852 to 1920), who, over the last part of the Meiji Period and first part of the Taisho Period designed the Rokumeikan, the Nicolai Cathedral, the historic Iwasaki western-style residence, etc., and made many contributions to the development of architecture in Japan. Ogawa Jihei, alias Niwashi-Ueji (1860 to 1933), a designer of Japanese gardens from Kyoto, created the Japanese garden renowned for its beauty that matched the level of the residence. The Furukawa garden is regarded as a valuable and typical example of the gardens of the Taisho Period. In 1982, the garden was designated as a famous site.