Following a year-long international search, the Portland Japanese Garden is pleased to announce the appointment of Sadafumi (Sada) Uchiyama as Garden Curator, a newly created position which will oversee the long-range artistic vision of the physical garden as well as oversee and facilitate all elements of design and maintenance.
Sadafumi Uchiyama is a third-generation Japanese gardener who has been practicing landscape architecture in Portland, Oregon. His family has been involved in gardening since 1909 in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. At the age of 21 he was the youngest person in the Southern region of Japan to receive the licensure of First Grade Japanese Garden Craftsmanship issued by the Ministry of Labor and Construction in Japan. Sada received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in landscape architecture from the University of Illinois, graduating with honors.
Traditional apprenticeship in Japanese gardening combined with the formal training in Western landscape architecture has allowed Sada to design and build a unique and wide range of landscape projects. Two of his representative projects include the renovation of Osaka Garden at Jackson Park in Chicago and the renovation of Shofu-en Garden at Denver Botanic Gardens.
No stranger to the Portland Japanese Garden, he served as a Vice President on the Board of Directors of the Japanese Garden Society. He also served as a secretary of the International Association of Japanese Gardens and most recently was invited to speak at the 5th International Symposium on Japanese Gardens in Tokyo.
Welcome Sada!
