The late Jiro Takei , professor emeritus of the Kyoto College of Art, taught a course on the Sakuteiki for many years. Throughout his long and distinguished career, he had been deeply involved in the study of Japanese gardens, as the Chairman of the Japanese Garden Academic Society (Nihon Teien Gakkai), regional chief of the Gardening Academic Society (Zoen Gakkei), and chief researcher of the Research Center for Japanese Garden Art (Nihon Teien Kenkyu Senta). Marc P. Keane is an American landscape architect who has been designing gardens from his studio in Kyoto, Japan for twenty- five years. He is also the author of many books on gardens and nature including Japanese Garden Design (Tuttle). HIs work can be viewed at www.mpkeane.com Hugo Torii (foreword writer) is the Garden Curator at Portland Japanese Garden (USA).

Prior to this, Torii worked at Peter Berg Landscape Design in Rheinland Pfalz, Germany, and at UeyaKato Landscape Co. Ltd. in Kyoto, Japan as a garden designer and builder. He now oversees a dedicated team of gardeners and is actively involved in training programs as well as garden maintenance and projects, keeping in mind short term needs as well as longer term implications for a garden that receives around 500,000 annual visitors.