The following is an excerpt from the pamphlet of "Cultural Property Designated Garden Special Place of Scenic Beauty Kenrokuen" issued by the Kanazawa Castle Kenrokuen Management Office in Ishikawa Prefecture.
"Kenrokuen Garden retains the characteristics of the typical Hayashisen strolling daimyō garden of the Edo period.
　Originally, Kenrokuen Garden was a garden that belonged to the castle as the outer structure of Kanazawa Castle.
　As for its history as a garden, the sloping land facing the castle is old. In 1676 (Enpo 4), Maeda Tsunanori, the 5th lord of Kaga Domain, moved the sakuji office in this area to the castle, built the Hasuji Gotei, and created a garden around it. This was the beginning of the main garden, which at that time was called the Lotus Garden. ・・・
　In 1822 (Bunsei 5), the magnificent retreat "Takezawa Goten" of the 12th feudal lord Saihiro was completed. In the garden, Tatsumi irrigation water was incorporated to create a curved water, and various stone bridges were built. In the year of the completion of the Takezawa Palace, it was named "Kenrokuen" in the sense that it combines the six victories of Hongda, Yue, human power, Canggu, water spring, and view, taken from the text of the "Luoyang Meiyuan" written by the Chinese Song Dynasty poet Li Gewei. ・・・
　On May 7, 1874 (Meiji 7), Kenrokuen Garden was opened to the public. Kenrokuen Garden, which was designated as a "Place of Scenic Beauty" on March 8, 1922 (Taisho 11) under the provisions of the "Historic Places of Scenic Beauty Natural Monument Preservation Law", was again designated as a "Place of Scenic Beauty" by the current "Cultural Property Protection Law" in 1950 (Showa 25).
　Furthermore, on March 20, 1985 (Showa 60), it became a "Special Place of Scenic Beauty."