About the garden in "Kanazawa in the Rain"

Story Sanctum's illustration for my story Kanazawa in the Rain

Last summer an online publication, Story Sanctum (storysancturm.com), published my short story Kanazawa in the Rain.

Kanazawa is a small city on the west coast of Japan. It was not important enough to be bombed during WWII, so a lot of pre-war and older charm remains. During the Tokugawa Era (1603-1868) it was the Maeda family's capital, and the Maeda family was one of the richest in the country.

Rated (by the Japanese) as one of Japan’s three most beautiful gardens, Kenrokuen is next to the reconstructed Kanazawa Castle. The name means “having six factors”: spaciousness, tranquility, artifice, antiquity, water sources and magnificent views. The garden has an area just over 28 ares and is located in central Kanazawa. The Maeda family, who ruled the Kaga Fief (the present Ishikawa and Toyama prefectures) in feudal times, established and maintained the garden.

My characters, an older, solitary American man and a middle-aged Japanese waitress, visit Kenrokuen and the villa on the grounds that the lord built for his mother. Late in the story the man compares the villa to the waitress's apartment. They're different.

Story Sanctum asked AI to create an illustration for the story, which it did. Here however is a picture of the real garden, from the Visit Kanazawa website (https://visitkanazawa.jp/en/attractions/detail_10106.html). 

Kenrokuen in the spring.