Shofuso Japanese House & Garden

Traditional 17th Century-Style Japanese House & Garden

(Detail Below Photos)

Photo Credits:

J. Freiman, Find In Philly Sr. Staff Photographer

This historic site and museum includes a hill and pond garden with a tiered waterfall, island, and koi fish, a tea garden featuring a traditional tea house, and a courtyard garden leading to a bathhouse. Designed in Japan in 1953 using traditional techniques and materials, the house was shipped to New York and exhibited in the courtyard of the Museum of Modern Art in New York before moving to West Fairmount Park in 1958. In 2007, international artist Hiroshi Senju, inspired by the garden's waterfall, donated 20 contemporary murals to Shofuso, which are permanently displayed inside the house.