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| Hosta 'Hirao Majesty' 30 June 2025 |
In 1950 in Buenos Aires I was 8. One day my mother who taught at a private American high school took me to have lunch with one of her students who was Chinese. We were served soup and I immediately noticed the white Chinese spoon. I was drawn (did not know this yet) by its simple and elegant design.
Since then I have equated the spoon with the best of modern Swedish design.
In the late 80s I was assigned to photograph the UBC anthropology professor (he was accused of several crimes including murder). I wrote about it, (link below) as I had to ask him why the Japanese had copied Chinese characters but not the spoon. His answer was a simple one, “Cultures adopt from other countries only what interests them.”
Cyril Belshaw &the Wondrous Chinese Spoon
At my door I have a large shine green hosta from Japan called Hirao Majesty. Unlike many other hostas that grow their flowers on scapes (the hosta term for stem) either in clusters at the end or many flowers down the scape, this one has one single and for me extremely elegant flower. It is particularly lovely before it opens.
