What was a Shimoyashiki in the Edo period?

Simply put, a “shimoyashiki” is a vacation home and secondary base owned by samurai (mainly daimyo) during the Edo period.
During the Edo period, large daimyo were given multiple plots of land in Edo by the shogunate.
These were divided into “upper,” “middle,” and “lower” levels depending on their role.

①Different Uses of Residences (Upper, Middle, and Lower)
Daimyo typically used three different types of residences.
| Types | Roles | Image |
| Upper Residence (Kamiyashiki) | Headquarters/Office | The main place where the lord actually lived and conducted politics. |
| Middle Residence (Nakayashiki) | Reservoir/Retirement Place | Residence for the heir or retired lord. The upper residence was the evacuation point in case of fire. |
| Lower Residence (Shimoyashiki) | Villa/Backup Base | Located in the suburbs, it was used to enjoy gardens and as an emergency storehouse. |

②The Main Role of the Lower Residences
Unlike the Upper Residences, which were located in the city center (near Edo Castle), the Lower Residences were located a little further out in the suburbs (present-day Setagaya, Meguro, Bunkyo, etc.).
・A place for relaxation: Beautiful gardens were built and the residences were used as villas for relaxing.
・Food base (home garden): They sometimes used the large grounds to grow vegetables for their own consumption.
・Fire evacuation shelter: Because fires were frequent in Edo, they used the garden to evacuate belongings and as a shelter in case their home was burned down.
・Family residence: This was sometimes where concubines (people other than the wife) and large families of servants lived

③Remains of the Shimoyashiki Residences Still Remain
In fact, many of the places we see today and think “what beautiful gardens” are actually the remains of former Shimoyashiki residences.
Minato Ward also has many Shimoyashiki residences, and Arisugawa Memorial Park is one of them.

Representative lower residences in other wards

・Shinjuku Gyoen: Lower residence of the Naito family of the Shinshu Takato Domain

・Rikugien: Lower residence of the Yanagisawa family in Komagome

・Hama Rikyu Gardens: Second residence of the Shogun family (hamayashiki)