Only a few weeks after Hurricane Lane left his bonsai exhibits and office building damaged, David Fukumoto was dismayed to find the plant that started it all — his first ever bonsai — was stolen from outside his Kurtistown home.
“It’s my first one,” said Fukumoto, owner of Fuku-Bonsai Inc. “I started it in my apartment in 1962.”
He said that was the same year he and his wife were married.
Fukumoto, an authorized bonsai appraiser, estimated it is worth conservatively $28,000, but to him, it’s priceless.
“I just had a strong gut reaction that someone kidnapped my daughter,” he said, comparing the plant to the loss of a family member. “It really hurt me.”
Fukumoto said he thinks it was stolen the night of Sept. 18.
He has been in the bonsai business more than 40 years.
In late August, 3-foot-high floodwaters damaged his property as Hurricane Lane dumped record rains on the windward side of the Big Island. Fortunately, his nursery was spared.
He still has high hopes for his business and the future of bonsai.
“I think we can make the Big Island the Bonsai Island,” Fukumoto said.
Police are asking for the public’s assistance with locating the bonsai.
Those with information can contact Officer Kaipo Aurello at 965-2716, the police nonemergency number at 935-3311 or Crime Stoppers at 961-8300. Tipsters might be entitled to a reward. Tips can be made anonymously.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
