Shukkeien Garden

This guide to Shukkeien Garden in Hiroshima begins in 1620, with samurai-turned-tea-master Ueda Soko directing workers to wedge stone after stone into a half-dug pond, shaping small islands nobody would ever walk on. It follows why Lord Asano Nagaakira wanted this garden beside his new castle, and what the turtle- and crane-shaped islands in Lake Takuei were meant to accomplish rather than simply decorate. You'll also hear what became of the garden after August 1945. Stand at the water's edge to pick out the shapes half-hidden beneath its surface.