It was the setting for the old mansion and garden in the Ghibli film “The Secret World of Arrietty,” and together with Murin-an and Seifu-so in Kyoto, Seibi-en is one of the three most famous gardens of the Meiji era (1868-1912). It is also designated as a national place of scenic beauty.

It is also a representative garden of the Oishi Bugaku style of landscaping found in the Tsugaru region.
One of the characteristics of the Oishi Bugaku style is that many of the gardens are designed in a style that allows visitors to sit and enjoy the garden from the tatami room. The axis of the garden is set toward the back of the garden as seen from the tatami room of the main house. The most important feature of the Oishi Bugaku style garden is a huge stone placed in the center of the garden called “Raihaiseki. Stepping stones are placed in the space from the Kutsunugiishi (stone without shoes) at the edge of the garden to the Raihaiseki, the center of the garden, and on either side of the Raihaiseki, there is a space for the Tsukubai and Nishinseki. Other representative gardens of the Oishi Bugaku style in Aomori Prefecture include the Hirosaki Castle Botanical Garden and Zuirakuen Garden in Hirosaki City, and the Miyakoshi family’s detached garden in Nakadomari Town. Seibien, located in a corner of Seibikan, is a building with a blend of Japanese and Western styles built for viewing the garden. The first floor is pure Japanese style, while the second floor is Renaissance-style Western style. The symmetrical upper and lower floors, reflected in the pond in the garden, are a unique beauty in harmony with the Japanese garden, and are well-known as a photo spot. Another highlight of the building is its modern and sophisticated detailing techniques, such as the cobweb-patterned clefts of the shoin-window shoji screens and the inlaid frosted-glass rounded-out windows, which provide a picturesque borrowed view.

Seibikan is said to be a representative of quasi-Western architecture that blends Japanese and Western styles, adopting designs from various foreign styles and combining them, while using the original techniques for the walls and frame structure.
It is located right next to the Saruka Shrine, so be sure to visit both.