[1] The garden began as a chashitsu for the Japanese tea ceremony built around 1636 by Hosokawa Tadatoshi, the first daimyō of Kumamoto, on the grounds of the Zen temple of Suizen-ji.

Hosokawa selected this site because of its spring-fed pond, the clean water of which was excellent for tea.

[2] A monk named Gentaku was part of the retinue of Hosokawa Tadatoshi when he entered Higo Province, and he was given this land with a natural spring of water from Mount Aso to construct a temple; however the temple was abandoned around after Gentaku returned to his native Bungo Province and its land reverted to Kumamoto Domain.

The thatched Kokin-Denju-no-Ma teahouse now on the site was originally a structure in Kyoto Imperial Palace, and was relocated here in 1912.

[3] Suizenji Kōen features miniature landscapes, a temple, and small lakes containing large koi.