七つ森に抱かれた宮床は時が止まったような隠れ里。 賑やかな街道筋から山にむかって1里余にある。 幾重にも水濠や石垣で囲まれた田手岡館には、青葉城の搦手(カラメテ)から、郷六、根白石を経て秘密の山道が続き、宮床伊達家は宗家の大事に備えた。累代の御霊は、今、大義山覚照寺に眠っている。
2011年、突如マグニチュード9.0に襲われた、どうすればいいのか、なにをすべきなのか、誰もがおろおろ迷うだけ、唯々、自然の猛威におののいた。 この一大事に宮床が立ち上がった。 呼びかけは山を越え谷を越えて、全東北にひろがり、みちのくの庭師魂に火がついた. 『自分達にできること、それは庭をつくることだ』
鎮魂と復興の日本庭園を造ろう。 日本中、世界中の人々にこの庭に来てもらおう。訪れた人が庭と自然が織りなす優しさに触れて、ホット一息つける穏やかのある庭を造ろう。
事前準備のために鬱蒼と茂った宮床の覚照寺境内の裏山に入ったのは、2013年6月15日。田圃ではカジカが自慢の喉を競っている。前日までの初夏の天候が一変した。ヤマセを思わせる北風と冷たい雨の中を、密林をかき分け、落ち葉が積もった薄暗い谷間に足をとられながら、これから始まる築庭プロジェクトに想いを馳せた。
There is a small village named Miyatoko surrounded by hills and forests, so to speak, a hidden place where the time seems to be at a standstill. Miyatoko is about four miles north of the lively quarters of Sendai. Inside of that village there is a famous residence named Tateoka-yakata which was owned by the Date family. It is surrounded by a stonewall and moat. The purpose of the building was to let the head of the Date family escape when there was a crisis looming. A secret highland pass was prepared from the rear of the Aoba Castle through Goroku and Nenoshiroishi. The spirits of the dead Date family were reverently buried at the Daigisan Kakushouji Temple in the Miyatoko village.
2011 was a bitter year for the people in Tohoku because on March 11th a gigantic earthquake hit that erea with a magnitude of 9.0. People were horrified at the sight of the damage. They did not know what to do at that time, and they just trembled with fear about the power of destruction caused by the earthquake. Two years later some Japanese garden meisters of Miyatoko and Tohoku had the brilliant idea that they should create a memorable Japanese garden at the kakushouji Temple in Miyatoko for the repose of the deceased and as a token of regeneration. They could manage to bring the idea to a successful conclusion.
On June 15th 2013, they started going into the precincts of the Kakushouji Temple to reach the thick forest of the hills at the back of the temple for the purpose of designing the layout of the Japanese garden. There is often a cold and wet easterly wind in June, called Yamase. On that day, when the people moved into the deep forest, it was a hot day and even the frogs croaked happily in the rice fields. Suddenly a gust of the Yamase brought a cold chill and rain to the area. A deep layer of wet leaves made the path along a gloomy ravine treacherous, but the people doggedly kept going, caring only about their great project.