On April 29, the Government of Japan announced the recipients of its Spring 2024 Decorations. From the jurisdiction of the Consulate General of Japan in Los Angeles, the following distinguished persons will be awarded.
Haruo Takehana, 80, of Rancho Palos Verdes, president of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Southern California, will receive the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays for contributing to promoting economic relations between Japan and the U.S.
Akiko Bourland, 94, of San Diego, former president of San Diego Wabi Chapter of the Ohara School of Ikebana, will receive the Order of the Rising Sun, Silver Rays for contributing to promoting Japanese culture in the U.S.
Haruo Takehana has served as a Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Southern California (JCCSC) director and officer since 2004, as president from 2012 to 2013 and from 2022 to the present. To establish and deepen connections between JCCSC and other organizations, he has proactively served at such organizations as Little Tokyo Business Association, which is dedicated to the revitalization and safety of Little Tokyo.
As part of efforts to make JCCSC a welcoming place, Takehana has greatly contributed to efforts aimed at supporting the economic activities of Japanese-affiliated companies and individual business owners, and broadening opportunities for businesses to interact and connect.
At the Japanese Community Pioneer Center, Takehana served as director, senior vice president, and for five years as president before taking on his current position as advisor. He quickly implemented COVID preventive measures for members and volunteers in 2020, and distributed goods and assistance to all members. As anxiety and confusion spread during the unprecedented pandemic, Takehana demonstrated leadership, serving the Japanese American community with devotion.
At Southern California Nagano Kenjinkai, Takehana was president for 10 years and now serves as honorary president tasked with coordinating the organization’s activities. He became a director of Japanese Prefectural Association of Southern California in 2011, and continues to serve in that role.
In 2012, he joined Beikoku Shodo Kenkyukai and served as executive director from 2014 until 2022. He is currently an advisor to the organization. In addition to arranging volunteerled shodo (Japanese calligraphy) demonstrations at universities and senior care centers in Southern California and other U.S. regions, he has offered detailed responses to questions from attendees and explained the spirit of shodo to audiences. In such ways, Takehana has greatly contributed to the appreciation of Japanese culture.
He received an Achievement Award from Japanese Community Pioneer Center in 2010, the Nisei Week Pioneer Spirit Award in 2017 and the Consul General’s Commendation in 2021. Takehana has served as vice president of the Japanese American Treaty Centennial Scholarship Fund for 13 years. In 2019, he received a recognition award from the scholarship fund for his long-standing personal donations to the fund to support young Japanese American students pursuing a college education.
Takehana has long served as a bridge between Japan and the Japanese American community in Southern California by greatly contributing to efforts to improve the local community’s economic activities. In addition, he has worked to spread Japanese culture and improve the social welfare of local Japanese American senior citizens. He continues to serve as a leader in several nonprofit organizations catering primarily to the Japanese American community, actively engaging in their activities.
Akiko Bourland founded Ohara School of Ikebana San Diego in 1973, becoming its inaugural president. She served as president for 35 years, guiding its growth into one of the largest in North America. In 1996, she received the title of “Grandmaster” from the Ohara School, and in 2008, she received the title of “Founder Advisor” from Wakako Ohara, the highest advisor of the Ohara School, making Bourland the first in the U.S. to receive this designation.
Upon the San Diego chapter’s separation into two chapters in 2018, she established the San Diego Wabi Chapter of the Ohara School of Ikebana, serving as its president for two years before becoming its founding advisor.
Bourland began teaching ikebana at the San Diego Community College District in 1970, just shortly after she moved to the U.S. In 1975, she obtained an instructor certificate from the district, where she actively taught for at least 50 years. Revered as “Akiko Sensei,” she has taught flower arrangement to thousands of students from different cultural and racial backgrounds.
Bourland has been actively involved in the Ikebana International San Diego Chapter for over 50 years. In 1988, she served as a member of the organizing committee for the 11th North American Regional Conference of Ikebana International held in San Diego, coordinating workshops and demonstrations by the Fourth Headmaster Natsuki Ohara of the Ohara School.
In 1990, she was named a “Lifetime Member” by Ikebana International’s headquarters in Tokyo in recognition of her contributions. In 2012, she was invited to demonstrate ikebana at the Boston chapter’s event, for which she was acknowledged by the consul general of Japan in Boston.
In 2002, Bourland became a founding member of the North American Ohara Teachers Association. As an honorary member, she actively contributed to the association’s events across the U.S. and Canada. In 2007, she chaired the association’s conference held in San Diego and welcomed instructors from Japan.
In 1996, Bourland organized an ikebana exhibition at the Handlery Hotel in San Diego. The exhibition, open to the public, attracted thousands of visitors and garnered attention for being an exhibition by a solo female artist. For this, she received a commendation from California Gov. Gray Davis.
In 2000, Bourland published a book titled “Ikebana: Harmony Through Flowers,” which introduces a variety of ikebana styles and arrangement methods and is widely used as educational material by ikebana students as well as interested groups in several countries, greatly contributing to the promotion and understanding of Japanese culture beyond national borders and organizations.