Create Your Own Japanese Garden: A Practical Guide

In this book, renowned garden designer Motomi Oguchi offers the reader a step-by-step, practical approach to creating Japanese gardens, drawn from a wealth of experience that covers thirty years and encompasses the design of more than 400 gardens. The author uses real examples from gardens he has designed, constructed, and photographed to illustrate his key points, approaching each work from the perspective of the home or building owner.


Oguchi begins with front gardens, as these are usually what one encounters first when entering a home. Typically, these front plantings are not defined Japanese garden types but rather, physical areas. He then moves on to tsubo niwa (courtyard gardens) and kare sansui (dry gardens) that might be found in the middle or rear of a building, or any available small space. Next, he introduces tea and tree gardens, which are more likely to be sections of a larger garden; and highlights specific characteristics and conditions of interior gardens.


Within each chapter are general layouts and methods of developing the various gardens, which precede specific, step-by-step instructions. The author also offers practical and affordable variations on more ambitious designs and shows how they can be adapted to the reader’s home or building. In addition, Oguchi emphasizes the importance of proper maintenance and offers suggestions for special touches and restoration.

MOTOMI OGUCHI was born in 1947. Since he began his career as a garden designer, he has created about 400 Japanese gardens for homes, temples, and public buildings including the Schloss Schoenbrunn in Vienna and, the Shizen-An spa/retreat on the north fork of Long Island, NY.


Co-author, JOSEPH CALI, wrote The New Zen Garden published by Kodansha International. He is also the author of Inside Your Japanese Garden due out in March 2022.