Various sources indicate Hiroshi Tagami's birth year anywhere from 1928 to 1930.  He was born in Hawaii during the depression years into a family twelve children. Tagami spent his younger days working on O’ahu plantations to help support his family during those lean times. 

Tagami enlisted in the military and served the United States during the Korean conflict. After returning home to Hawai’i, he began and operated a successful photography business for several years.  In 1964 like many artists who became well known as abstract expressionists, he used his G.I. Bill benefits to enroll in art classes after returning home from the war, Tagami painted in a variety of genre, but we believe his abstractions are the most interesting.  

His works are in public and private collections worldwide including the permanent collections of the AMFAC Corporation, Bank of Hawai’i, State Foundation of Culture and the Arts (Hawai’i), and the Walter Cecil Rawis Museum in Hawai’i.