As a descendant of the master Buddhist sculptor ‘Unkei’ (1150–1223) from the 12th century Kamakura Era, Masahiro has always been fascinated by the beauty of art, crafts, sculpture, architecture, and nature. Around age 5, an encounter with Le Corbusier through a documentary sparked a profound interest in architecture. This early exposure motivated him to pursue an architecture degree. Fifteen years later, during a class viewing of the exact same documentary, he discovered the identity of the influential figure who had introduced him to the world of architectural design. 
Having explored Japanese temples to observe Unkei’s work in Kyoto and Nara, he developed a curiosity about the relationship between nature and architecture. Over time, his interest shifted towards larger-scale spatial design beyond architecture.
The discovery of Landscape Architecture was his turning point that led him to the Osaka Metropolitan University Graduate School (OMU), which had significant influenced from UC Berkeley (UCB) after Garrett Eckbo’s 1969 lecture series at OMU. 
In 2017, He attended a symposium “Community Revitalization and Reactivation of Public Space” jointly hosted by UCB and OMU in Osaka. On behalf of the symposium host, he collaborated with UCB chair Louise Mozingo to participate in the event as a panelist and presented his green infrastructure projects. Another objective through this event was to enhance the relationship between the two universities. After the symposium, he organized office visits and UCB studio visits every year until the Pandemic. 

Prior to his career in the US, he started his professional journey at Studio ON-SITE Landscape Architects in Tokyo, one of the leading firms in Japan. Having observed the office dynamics and worked for Hiroki Hasegawa (CEO, Univ. of Oregon Alumnus-1985) and Toru Mitani (Ph.D., Harvard GSD alumnus-1987, GSD Design Critic-2017), he developed his fundamental approach towards Landscape Design before relocating to California. 

Currently, he serves as a Senior Landscape Architect at AECOM San Francisco Office, although most of his experience comes from RHAA Landscape Architecture, where he held the role of Senior Associate, leading the design work for its San Francisco Office. His portfolio includes diverse projects such as Plazas, Large Podium Public Spaces Spaces (Salesforce Tower Plaza, SF Japantown Peace Plaza), Parks, Corporate Campuses (Facebook, Google, HP), Hotels, and Streetscapes (google). With a strong interest in the execution and delivery phase of projects, he also has comprehensive experience across all project phases. Especially his extensive involvement in the Construction Documentation phase has influenced his design approach significantly.
Additionally, he values our field intersects with various disciplines such as ecology, hydrology, geomorphology, history, culture, sociology, and politics. The accumulation of these influences and site constraints gives us an opportunity to offer a site-specific design approach. 
Most importantly, he believes that adding intuitive artistic touch makes the landscape special and memorable. It excites him when things are resolved and expressed spatially in a beautiful manner. The beautiful landscape will inspire others and will be cherished always.

Besides work, having grown up playing tennis, He enjoys traveling the world to catch up with his tennis friends and visit Grand Slams and different cities. He finds inspiration by being in places in different scales ― a hidden zen garden ‘Entsu-Ji’ in Kyoto, a mile-long energetic street ‘La Rambla’ in Barcelona, or a dynamic valley landscape ‘Lake Lungern’ in Switzerland.