Born Masuo Obe in 1898 in Fukuoka Prefecture, Okochi came from a family of physicians who had served the local feudal lord. He trained under Sawada Shojiro in the Shinkokugeki theater troupe, a school of popular drama known for its strikingly realistic sword choreography. That training launched him into cinema. By 1925, Okochi was a star at the Nikkatsu studio, playing iconic swordsmen like Chuji Kunisada and the one-eyed, one-armed ronin Tange Sazen. At his peak, he stood alongside Tsumasaburo Bando and Chiezo Kataoka as one of the top three jidaigeki actors in Japan. His career spanned the silent era through the postwar period, working with directors who would shape Japanese cinema itself.

While his screen persona carried a sword, his private ambition carried a trowel. Starting in the 1930s, Okochi began purchasing land on the slopes behind Tenryuji Temple, where Mount Ogura rises above the Hozu River gorge. Over three decades, he shaped approximately two hectares of mountainside into a sequence of gardens, buildings, and viewpoints. The main structures date from the 1930s and 1940s, but one building -- the Jibutsudo, a Buddhist shrine with an elegant irimoya-style roof -- is a Meiji-era structure that Okochi had relocated to the site. The gardens were designed with obsessive seasonal intent: cherry blossoms in spring, hydrangeas in early summer, blazing maples in autumn, and the stark beauty of bare branches and moss under winter light.

The genius of the estate lies in what it reveals. Because the villa climbs the slopes of Mount Ogura, the grounds open onto sweeping views that most of Arashiyama's visitors never see. From the observation platform, the entire city of Kyoto spreads below to the east, with Mount Hiei rising on the far horizon. Turn, and the deep V of the Hozu River gorge cuts through forested mountains to the west. The Sagano bamboo grove, one of Japan's most photographed landscapes, rustles directly below. Okochi framed these views deliberately -- winding paths reveal each panorama at precisely the right moment, the way a film director controls what the audience sees and when.

When Okochi died in 1962, the villa opened to the public. Several of its buildings are registered as cultural properties by the national government. Inside the grounds, a small open-air museum displays photographs and memorabilia from his film career -- the fierce-eyed swordsman captured in still frames, a strange contrast to the meditative garden he poured his life into. The main teahouse still serves refreshments to visitors. For years, admission included matcha tea and a traditional sweet, a custom that has since been simplified. The estate sits at the far end of the famous bamboo path, past Tenryuji Temple, which means most visitors who enter the bamboo grove from the main Arashiyama street encounter Okochi Sanso only if they keep walking to the very end -- a fitting arrangement for a hidden masterpiece.