We had the good fortune of connecting with Kohei Owatari and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kohei, why did you pursue a creative career?
I have always been fascinated with the patterns of nature, particularly the flow of fluids. I am a pilot, a kayaker, and plant collector. I am thrilled to see beautiful patterns in the natural world. I see wind create movement of clouds and movement of leaves and branches in trees. Water ripples and flows down streams and rivers, then creates marvelous waves in lakes and oceans. I see boulders and shorelines that only nature could design. Rocks, boulders and soils reflect geological forces of nature and its movement over eons of time. The nearest job I could present my passion and knowledges was the garden design.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I believe that the designing and implement is creating the art in your surroundings. I was first trained as a landscaper in one of the royal gardens of Japan. This is where he first learned and practiced the principles and skills of traditional garden design. With this back- ground I have evolved into a sculptural garden designer. I have created many water features and designs for private and commercial clients. In many cases, there are only a few elements especially stone, boulders and water involved. Each element is carefully selected, fabricated and positioned to interact well with the other elements in the work. The completed design is three dimensional and can be seen from many angles, and continually flows with the visual perspective of the viewer. I have always been fascinated by the history of Japanese gardens and their emphasis on natural patterns and elements. I believe Japanese garden is the ART of garden .

Our approach to designing and installing Japanese gardens in Southern California involves heavy collaboration and adoption of Japanese garden elements with local lifestyle, architectural style, and climate. For example, Southern California’s dry climate and alkaline soil conditions limit the use of many acidic-soil-loving plant varieties that are traditionally used in Japan. To adapt, I bring in western garden styles, local materials, technology, and plant life. We find that most clients appreciate his adaptability, and I think that this adaptability is what will sustain the art of Japanese garden design in the future.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Mission Bay and San Diego Bay are my two great outdoor spots along with the North county coast line as we all know it represents “San Diego”. I rather spend at the outdoor than city life. but even within the city limit, I like paddling in bays, hiking in a lot of trails, camping and enjoying the nature in San Diego.

I spent a lot of time in Baja California doing the hiking the remote area of mountains, canyons and desert as well as island hopping in sea of Cortez. For the short weekend trip to Valle de Guadalupe is one of favorite to enjoy good food there.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
One of mentor of the design practice is the nature. The connect to the nature means a lot to me, the movement of wind, sound and texture, colors and the collaboration of each element as well as many garden designers.

A friend of mine has been my business mentor for the last 10 years. She coached me how to run the business from scratch, such as with basic communication and customer service, and all other important business practices. I have to admit, for the first 20 years before she came along, I lost a lot of precious life on other interests, but she got me on track to run Modern Zen Garden as a business that I am proud of.

I’d also like to thank the Southern Californian commercial property owners and the homeowners for trusting me time after time for over a decade now. They recognized and appreciated craftsman work, and they gave me the freedom to create really unique and artistic designs for their gardens.

Website: modernzengarden.com

Instagram: Modern Zen garden

Linkedin: Kohei Owatari and Associates

Facebook: Modern Zen Garden by Kohei Owatari

Other: Pinterest-Modern Zen Garden Houzz-Modern Zen Garden

Image Credits
Kohei Owatari Kotaro Motomura Manolo Langis

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