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Curator Emeritus of Portland Japanese Garden Receives Lifetime Achievement Award from North American Japanese Garden Association

Posted by Portland Japanese Garden on
a man in a blazer and white collar shirt holding an award
Sadafumi Uchiyama, Curator Emeritus of Portland Japanese Garden with his NAJGA Lifetime Achievement Award. Photo by Desi Wood.

In October, the North American Japanese Garden Association (NAJGA) gathered for its annual conference at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. Among the various events was a special reception on October 16, in which esteemed members of the NAJGA community were recognized for their service to the organization and the field of Japanese gardens writ large. Among those who received a lifetime achievement award was Sadafumi (Sada) Uchiyama, Curator Emeritus of Portland Japanese Garden and formerly its Garden Curator (2008-21) and Chief Curator (2021-23).

A fourth-generation Japanese gardener from southern Japan, Uchiyama has devoted his life to fostering relations between Japanese gardens in Japan and those outside of Japan. He was deeply involved in the development of NAJGA and alongside Diane Durston (Curator Emerita) and Steve Bloom (CEO, 2005-24), developed the Japanese Garden Training Center, of which he led as Director until his retirement.

Sadafumi Uchiyama supervising a Waza to Kokoro learner in 2023. Uchiyama served as Director of the Japanese Garden Training Center until his retirement at the end of 2023. Photo by Jonathan Ley.

After an introduction from NAJGA President Benjamin Chu, a video was played in which friends and colleagues of Uchiyama commented on the many ways he’s made a positive impact on their organizations, communities, and lives. Chu then introduced Uchiyama, who gave brief remarks. He touched upon the irony of how he, the son of a gardener in Southern Japan, tried to run away from the family profession only to make it his life’s work in the United States. He also mentioned his hope that Japanese gardens will survive and thrive within the field of landscape architecture in his adopted home of more than 30 years. Finally, Uchiyama ended expressing his gratitude to NAJGA, “I love you and thank you,” he shared.

This award joins other notable accolades Uchiyama has previously received. In 2022, Uchiyama was awarded the Foreign Minister’s Commendation from Foreign Ministry of Japan, one of the highest honors bestowed by the Japanese government, given to those with outstanding achievements in international fields. In 2022 he was also honored by the Oregon Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, which hailed him as “an internationally recognized master artisan of the practice of landscape architecture.”