Legend has it that when the Koishikawa Korakuen Garden in Bunkyo Ward was built in the early Edo Period, it boasted gigantic rocks and majestic, ancient trees reminiscent of the steep mountains and dark valleys of China.
It is also said that the garden lost much of its splendor when Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi ordered these removed in 1702 to ensure his frail 78-year-old mother would be safe while strolling there.
Three centuries later, officials of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government are struggling not to repeat the same mistake amid growing calls to make public places more accessible to everyone.
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