The release date for the English version of 'The Samurai's Garden' by
Gail Tsukiyama is May 1995. If you enjoy this novel, it is available for buy as a paperback from Barnes & Noble or Indigo, as an ebook on the Amazon Kindle store, or as an audiobook on Audible.
Stephen, a 20-year-old Chinese painter, is brought to his family's beachside hamlet in Japan to recuperate from a TB episode. Matsu, a reserved housekeeper and expert gardener, looks after him here. Stephen discovers Matsu's trick and develops both great spiritual understanding and physical power over the course of an incredible year. Stephen is a wonderful student who comes to respect Matsu's kind and giving nature as well as his soul-mate, the lovely Sachi, a leprosy sufferer. Matsu is a samurai of the spirit, a guy dedicated to doing good and discovering beauty in a harsh and arbitrary world.