The Life & Loves of

Hiroshi Tagami

Nestled in the heart of Kahaluʻu on Oʻahu’s windward side is a sprawling estate of lush botanicals housing several Japanese-inspired galleries filled with art. The property was originally an empty plot of land purchased by celebrated oil painter Hiroshi Tagami (1928-2014), who grew up in Wahiawa and was recognized at a young age by an auctioneer who appreciated the oil paintings he displayed on the Honolulu Zoo fence.

In the 1960s, together with his then-life partner, ceramicist Dick Hart, Tagami opened a zoological shelter for plants and animals and the property became his canvas. The article about the couple below appeared in The Honolulu Star-Bulletin & Advertiser on August 3, 1980.

Over the next 30 years, with his second life partner and fellow artist Michael Powell, Tagami transformed it into an expansive manicured garden and tropical forest where they mentored young artists and nurtured a vibrant creative community. Today, Kahaluʻu Gallery and Gardens maintains a beautiful memorial, in the building that was once his studio, documenting the highlights of Hiroshi Tagami’s life and art. The article below about Tagami and Powell appeared in The Honolulu Star-Bulletin on April 29, 1991.

In 1990, “Aloha, The Magazine of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific” published a beautiful article by Lance Tominaga about Hiroshi and the loves of his life. It’s a wonderful portrayal of a man born and raised in plantation-era Hawaiʻi who created ways to be who he was meant to be, long before the world was ready.

The magazine ceased publication in 1998, so the article is preserved here, along with his 2012 obituary, and additional ephemera that capture bits of his story. (Click on image to enlarge.)