Shusekitei in Hōkoku Shrine, Osaka

When I was exploring Hōkoku Shrine in Osaka Castle Park, I spotted a stone garden fenced in at the corner of the shrine, just beside the main hall. I learned later that it is called, 'Shuseki-tei', literally, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's stone garden. It was donated by the Kyoto Rinsen (Garden) Association in 1972, and was designed by a famous Japanese garden designer, Mirei Shigemori (1896–1975). Colorful greenish stones quarried in Tokushima are used in this garden, and I was intrigued because I saw the same kind of colorful stones on the stone walls of Tokushima Castle just recently. Unfortunately, the garden was closed. When I inquired later, the staff of Hōkoku Shrine said it's open only on special occasions, such as during Golden Week holidays in May or New Year holidays. But even though the gate was closed, I could see a lot from the gate and over the walls, though I had to stand on my tiptoes!