Located on the southern hill of the Musashino Terrace, Kyu-Furukawa Teien (Kyu-Furukawa Gardens) is a park best known as a rare example of a Japanese-style garden from the early Taisho period that maintains most of its original shapes and characteristics.
On the small elevated land in the northern section stands a Western-style villa with a rose garden, built by the renowned British architect Josiah Conder, who also designed the Kyu-Iwasaki-tei Garden in Taito ward and the Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Chiyoda ward. The garden, planted with varieties of roses, is an ingenious combination of a terraced Italian garden and a French garden laid out in a geometric formation.
At the heart of the premises lies a Japanese garden built by Ogawa Jihei, a distinguished landscape gardener from Kyoto. The garden features a large pond ringed by a pathway that is lined with stone lanterns.
The park stands on what was once the property of Mutsu Munemitsu, a prominent statesman and diplomat in Meiji period. The park in its current condition was erected as the residence of Furukawa Toranosuke, the third chairman of the Furukawa zaibatsu (conglomerates dissolved after the Second World War).
After the Second World War, the property remained state-owned until it was loaned to Tokyo metropolis for free, and opened to the public in 1956 in response to requests from local residents.
This garden was designated as a Cultural Property of Tokyo in 1982, and as the National Site of Scenic Beauty in 2006.