Along with Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens, the only other original feudal garden remaining from the early Edo Period. Centered around a pond, the gardens consist of a classic strolling path with aesthetic rock garden formations. Originally part of the sea bed, the area was recovered during the Meikei Period (1655-1658) and in 1678 it became the official residence of Tadatomo Okubo, a member of the Shogun's council of elders. During the building of his residence, Tadatomo brought in gardeners from his fiefdom in the Odawara area and commissioned them to create the garden that would be known as "Rakujuen." From then, the ownership of the gardens passed through a number of people until it became the official residence of the Kishi branch of the Tokugawa Family in the last years of the Tokugawa Shogunate. In 1871 during the early Meiji Period, it became the property of the Arisugawa-no-miya family, but shortly after in 1875 it was purchased by the Imperial Household Department and became the Shiba Detached Palace in the next year. In 1923, the wide-spread fires following the Great Kanto Earthquake left all the buildings and most of the trees destroyed. In January of 1924, it was bestowed as a gift to Tokyo City; the gardens were then restored and re-opened to the public in April 1924. In 1979, the gardens were designated as a National Beautiful Site.