1941 Born in Kanagawa, Japan
1962 Graduated from Kuwasawa Design School in Tokyo
1967 Joined A. & PG. Castiglioni Studio in Milan, Italy
1970 Joined Studio Design e Sistemi d'Arredamento Olivetti under Ettore Sottsas in Milan
1980 Established U-MetaDesign, Inc. in Tokyo
1981-83 Joined the activity of Memphis
1983-93 Jury of Good Design Award in Japan
1990-02 Guest lecturer in Kuwazawa Design School
1991-98 Consultant designer of Fukui Prefecture in Japan
2001 Altered the company name in Umeda Design Studio Inc.
2005 Guest Professor at Oribe Design Center of Gifu Prefecture, Japan


1968 First Braun Prize, Germany - "Mobile Supply System"
1979 Nominated for Golden Compass Award, Italy - "La Cassa"
1981 Grand Prix of Japan Display Design Award - "Fashion Live Theater "
1984 Japan Commercial Space Design Award, Japan - "Ginza MG Planet"
1987 IF '87, Germany - "Umeda Stand"
1990 Grand Prix of Good Design Award, Japan -"Land Luce"
    IF '90, Germany - "Land Luce"
1991 Japan Interior Designers Association Award - "Tomato Bank"
1997 Good Design Prize for Chicago Athenaeum Museum, USA -"Separa"
2001 Grand Prix of Urbanistic Projects Award in Gifu City, Japan-
   "Public space and interior design of Nagoya Railroads Shin-Gifu Station"

2015 Special Award - 23th Kuwasawa Award, Japan


1981 "Memphis"in Milan
1982 "Metafa Masanori Umeda" in Tokyo
1985 "Contemporary Landscape: from the horizon of Postmodern Design"
     at The National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto
1988 "Kagu-Tokyo Designer's Week 88" in Tokyo
1989 "Masanori Umeda- Domestic Bio-Form" in Tokyo
    "Europalia '89- Japan Design" in Belgium
    "Memphis & Trasavanguardia" at Fukuyama Museum of Art in Fukuyama, Japan
1991 "Memphis" at Musee de Marseille, France
    Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Holland
    "Alessi- 100% Make-Up" in Milan
    "Design Connections" in Paris
    "Selbstdienung" in Frankfurt
1992 "DAM Centennial Celebration" at The Denver Art Museum in Denver, USA
1993 "Japanese Light" in Frankfurt
1994 "Japanese Design" at Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, USA
1995 "Art to Swatch" at Chicago Athenaem Museum, USA
1996 "Design in Wandel" at Ubersee Museum Bremen, Germany
1997 "Designed for Delight" at Musee des Art Decoratifs de Montreal, Canada
    "Image of Flowers "The Museum of Modern Art,IBARAKI, Japan
2002 "Casa di Umeda" at Casa Mobel in Munchen
    "Memphis" Loos Haus in Vienna
2005 "Chairs and Japanese Design" at The Saitama Museum of Modern Art, Japan
    "Pioneers in the globalization of design" at The Musashino Art University Museum, Tokyo

2016 "Memphis" at 10 corso como, Seoul, Korea
2016 “SHIFTING OBJECTIVES 形流意動 Design from the M+Collection”
    at M+ Pavillion, West Kowloon Cultural District, Hong Kong


The National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto
Philadelphia Museum of Art, USA
The Montreal Museum of Fine Art, Canada
Musee des Arts Decoratifs de Montreal, Canada
The Denver Art Museum, USA
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York
The Chicago Athenaeum Museum, USA
The Groninger Museum, Holland
The Saitama Museum of Modern Art, Japan
Museum For Angewandte Kunst at Vienna, Austria
Nurnberg Kunsthalle Museum of Art, Germany
Museum fur augewandte Kunst in Munchen , Germany
Museo di Design in Belem, Portugal
Seoul Design Center, Republic of Korea
The Musashino Art University Museum in Tokyo
M+ Museum, West Kowloon Cultural District, Hong Kong