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![\"Korakuen,](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.donaldneff.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/IMG_3275E.jpg?resize=500%2C395\")
<\/a>One of the Three Great Gardens of Japan<\/a> is called Korakuen (K\u00c5\u008draku-en)<\/a>. Located in Okayama, Japan, it was built in 1700 by Ikeda Tsunamasa. Korakuen means “garden of pleasure after”, which is a reference to a saying attributed to Confucius\u00e2\u20ac\u201dexplaining that a wise ruler must attend to his subjects’ needs first, and only then should he consider his own interests. Once a playground for the elite, in 1884 Okayama Prefecture took Korakuen over and opened it to the public.<\/p>\n In 1957 Okayama<\/a> and San Jose became sister cities<\/a>. San Jose built it’s own garden in 1965, called the Japanese Friendship Garden<\/a>, patterned after Korakuen, and in 1966 it’s koi ponds were stocked with koi<\/a> sent from Okayama. Although koi live over 50 years with some reports of over 200 years, unfortunately in 2009 a virus wiped out much of the koi<\/a> in the gardens.<\/p>\n A video from 1958 of San Jose Mayor Doerr visiting Okayama gives you a little idea of the friendship and culture in years gone by\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.<\/p>\n