Modelled after West Lake in Hangzhou, China, Shukkei-en was built in 1620 for daimyō (domain lord) Asano Nagaakira. The garden's name means 'contracted view', and it attempts to re-create grand vistas in miniature. Pathways lead through a series of 'landscapes' and views around an island-dotted pond.

　　Shukkei-en was destroyed by the bomb, though many of the trees and plants survived to blossom again the following year, and the park and its buildings have long since been restored to their original splendour.