Photo/Illutration The White Gravel and Pine Garden of the Adachi Museum of Art in Yasugi, Shimane Prefecture (Provided by the Adachi Museum of Art)

YASUGI, Shimane Prefecture--Japan’s most splendid garden, at the Adachi Museum of Art here, held onto its ranking for the 19th straight year in 2021 in a survey by the U.S.-based Journal of Japanese Gardening.

The well-tended space covers roughly 170,000 square meters and consists of six areas, including the Dry Landscape Garden, the Moss Garden and the White Gravel and Pine Garden.

The journal, also known as Sukiya Living Magazine, was founded by Douglas Roth in 1998 to introduce Japanese gardens to the world.

Begun in 2003, the rankings are determined by gardening experts and cover 1,000 Japanese gardens around the country.

The magazine features the top 50 gardens every year.

Although the picturesque garden was originally designed by a famous gardener, museum founder and local businessman Zenko Adachi added arrangements of his own to complete the landscape.

Maintained by seven gardeners, the grounds boast a variety of trees and flowers such as red and black pines, “satsuki” and “tsutsuji” azaleas and maples.

Museum director Takanori Adachi said the charm of the garden lies in its landscape beauty, both natural and artificial, that is of unprecedented scale in the world.

“The landscape created with natural and artificial esthetics in mind is a classic example of once-in-a-lifetime dramas that makes visitors feel like they are gazing at a art masterpiece that never fails to impress,” he said in a statement.

Noting that all museum staff members work on a daily basis to keep the garden looking pristine, Adachi said, “I believe that is our social duty and function, seeing as we achieved the rating for the 19th consecutive year.”

The Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto Prefecture ranked second in the list.

Four other gardens in Shimane Prefecture also ranked among the top 50 in Japan, including Minamikan ryokan in Matsue, which netted fourth place (third place the previous year); the Yushien garden in Matsue, which ranked 20th (25th); Yunosuke’s Hotel Chorakuen in Matsue, which came in 27th (26th); and Kokokuji temple in Izumo, ranking 28th (27th).

Kyoto Prefecture topped the list with 11 facilities, followed by Tokyo (7) and Shimane and Fukuoka prefectures (5).

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