Our Special guest for March
Harry Hirao
Born March 12, 1917 -- Harry Hirao was born in Lafayette in north-central Colorado. [At age
6, he and his parents would move to Japan to take care of his grandparents.
A decade later Harry would return to live with relatives on the farm.
At age 24 he would marry Chiyoko Alyce Yamamoto. They would live
a simple life as vegetable farmers and also raise two boys and two girls.
In March of 1957 they would move to California and start a landscape business
with the help of relatives. Harry would hear of an old friend, John
Naka, teaching bonsai, and join the class in the early 1960s. After
15 years as a devoted student Harry would become a bonsai teacher himself.
In 1977 he would form Kofu Bonsai Kai in Orange County with a longtime
friend, Larry Ragle. In 1981 he would be honored by Prince Takamatsu
of Japan with an award of the "Ryoku Hakiju Yukosho" medal and by the Japanese
Agricultural Society with a plaque for his contributions to the art of
bonsai in the United States. He would be a nationally known and sought-after
teacher and demonstrator. His particular field of expertise would
earn him the name of "Mr. California Juniper," but he would be versatile
with all species and also be known for his suiseki. He would lead
several trips annually to local rivers, mountains and desert areas to search
for stones and junipers with his students. Friends would fund the
Harry Hirao Reception Room at the John Naka Pavilion for Bonsai at the
National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. Kofu Bonsai Kai would list
over 200 active members by the start of the new century and be one of the
top ranking bonsai clubs in California. "How to be Happy," the first
episode of the PBS series EGG, the arts show, would include a segment
on Harry in 2001 "who has found happiness in remote places, capturing and
training bonsai trees (an artform if there ever was one)."]
