Shoji Sadao, 92, a New York City resident since 1959, recently of Tokyo, died November 3. Architect, author, museum director, he is best known for his work and collaborations with Buckminster Fuller and Isamu Noguchi. Sadao served as the founding Executive Director of the Noguchi Museum from 1989 to 2003, and was a lifetime trustee.
He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Tsuneko Sadao of Tokyo, sister Masako Asawa of Fullerton, brother Frank Sadao of Huntington Beach, three nieces, Elizabeth Asawa of Brooklyn, Ellen Chew of Pasadena, and Amy Sadao of Philadelphia, and nephew John Sadao of Playa Vista. In Tokyo, nephew Kenji Kagami and niece Akiko Yamashita. They are joined in sorrow with the children of half-sister and husband the late Fujiye and Ben Nishimuro: Richard Nishimuro of Los Angeles, Lily Jew of Los Angeles, the late Irene Ryan, and James Nishimuro of Los Angeles.
Private funeral in Tokyo will be followed by a public memorial in New York City in the spring of 2020. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the Noguchi Museum and the Tsuneko and Shoji Sadao Lecture Series at the Japan Society.