スイス・マツダ日本庭園 Japanese Garden of Mazda Switzerland
庭園の所有者はスイスにおけるマツダのメインディーラーで、レマン湖のほとりのジュネーブにある本社工場の事務棟新築工事に伴い作庭された日本庭園である。これより前、スイスでは1971年に同じジュネーブの世界保健機構（WHO）に於いて斉藤勝雄設計監修による日本庭園が完成している。
庭園計画地の地形は、建物周辺が平坦、その先は小高い丘になっていて、日本庭園を作るには好条件の場所であった。やや扇状に開いたL型の建物の中からの景観は、どの部屋から見ても日本庭園が見られるように計画されていた。それはスイス・マツダの社長、Mr.Pierre J. Blancが大の日本庭園びいきで、日本庭園のことを考えた建物の設計を依頼していたからである。
計画では後背地の丘の上から滝を落とし、手前には池を作ってその建物側には芝生の中に州浜を作り、その反対側は小高くなっているので崩れ積みとして、土留の役をさせながら景観を整えたいと現場で先方の社長に概略の構想を話すと大変気に入ってくれ、了解を得ることが出来た。Blanc社長への提案に手を加えたことは、池の中の建物に一番近いところに露結の水鉢と露地灯籠の棹を少し長くしたものを据え、崩れ積みの奥の植え込みの中から長懸樋を伝って水を流して水鉢に水をおとすようにしたこと。またこの庭園は全体的には鑑賞式庭園であるが、一部滝の周辺は滝を見ながら滝の上へ出られるように自然石で階段を造り散策路としたことであった。そして散策路の出口には庭木戸を取り付け庭園の区切りとした。尚、石組みに使用した自然石・樹木はWHO日本庭園と同じ現地業者から調達した。
資料出典および備考
1) 箱根植木㈱30周年記念誌編集委員会：海外における箱根植木の実績、三十年のあゆみ，pp156-158.
This Japanese garden is owned by one of Switzerland’s main Mazda dealers. The garden was built following the construction of new company headquarters on Lake Geneva in Geneva. Before this time, the only other Japanese garden in Switzerland was the garden constructed at WHO headquarters in Geneva in 1971, designed and supervised by Saito Katsuo.
Topographically, the site is flat around the buildings and rises lightly in elevation to a hill, offering good conditions for a garden. As seen from the building, the L-shaped garden opens in the shape of a fan; it was designed to be seen from each room. The chief director of Mazda Switzerland, Mr. Pierre J. Blanc, was fond of Japanese gardens, and he therefore requested that the building be designed to accommodate a Japanese garden.
According to the plan, a waterfall was to be installed on the hill in the distance. A pond would be built on the front side of the hill, and a pebble beach would be constructed in the grass area on the building side. Irregular stone piles would be erected using the slightly elevated topography in order to block the soil and add to the scenery. Mr. Blanc loved the plan and gave his permission for construction.
The plan was based on the initial idea approved by Mr. Blanc; additional elements were then added. A water basin called a Roketsu and a tea-garden lantern with a slightly longer pole than usual were installed on the building side of the pond. The water goes into the basin through a Kakehi (bamboo fountain) from a stand of trees behind the irregular piles of stone. As the garden was basically for appreciation, a strolling path, including steps with natural stones, was installed around part of the waterfall so that people could see the view from the top of the waterfall. A wooden gate was also installed at the end of the path to partition the garden. Incidentally, the native stones used for the arrangements, as well as the trees, came from the same local dealer that had supplied the stones for the Japanese garden at WHO headquarters