Seisonkaku
NRP-JPN-001
Maeda Nariyasu commissioned Seisonkaku in 1863 for his mother Takako beside Kenrokuen. The residence preserves colourful rooms, gardens and family collections that illuminate the domestic culture of the Maeda lords. The formal guest room and the reading and ultramarine rooms are among its named interior highlights.
1863
Sources
Current catalogue visitor information: this section supersedes any earlier access summary below or above.
Palace Profile & Official Website
Maeda Nariyasu commissioned Seisonkaku in 1863 for his mother Takako beside Kenrokuen. The residence preserves colourful rooms, gardens and family collections that illuminate the domestic culture of the Maeda lords. The formal guest room and the reading and ultramarine rooms are among its named interior highlights.
Official website / visitor information
Access: open regularly. Published hours: 09:00–17:00, last entry 16:30. Closed Wednesdays, or Thursday when Wednesday is a national holiday. Some rooms and gardens open only during special periods.
Sources
Annual Visitor Statistics
No verified annual attendance figures have been entered. This does not mean zero visitors or that no statistics exist.
Interiors and collections
A formal room for receiving guests
The Ekken-no-ma was designed for official meetings in the buke-shoin tradition of warrior-class residences. Its raised floor distinguishes the principal seating area from the lower part of the room and the adjoining hall. Lacquer-coloured wood, gold and sand wall finishes, and flower-and-bird paintings give this formal arrangement a richly worked surface.
Small fittings and painted woodwork
The official room guide draws attention to the transom decorated with birds and flowers and to the work of the Maeda craftsman Yugetsu Takeda. Decorative nail covers and sliding-door handles are also part of the design: metalwork and Kaga cloisonné introduce bright glazed colour at a much smaller scale than the painted panels.
Family collections and special openings
Nariyasu built the villa for his mother Takako in 1863. Its collections preserve objects associated with the Maeda household, including dolls, miniature furnishings and textiles, shown through changing exhibitions. Seiko Shoin, Seiko-ken and the Hikaku-tei garden are normally closed and open only for limited periods. Check the official exhibition and special-opening notices before visiting.
Related owners: Maeda Nariyasu, Takako (Maeda family).
Official sources
- Seisonkaku: Ekken-no-ma and decorative fittings
- Seisonkaku: family history, collections and special openings
Sources checked 10 October 2026.