The Japanese Tea Garden began as the Japanese Village and Tea Garden at the 1894 World's Fair. It was built by Australian born George Turner Marsh, who hired Japanese craftsmen to construct the site. After the close of the fair, Marsh sold his concession to the city of San Francisco for $4,500. Makoto Hagiwara, a Japanese immigrant and gardener, was then hired to manage the garden. He personally oversaw the modification of the temporary Japanese Village fair exhibit to the permanent Japanese Tea Garden and was official caretaker of the garden for most of the time between 1895 to 1925. He imported from Japan many plants, birds, and the now famous koi fish, and he more than tripled the size of the garden.