Ikuo Hirayama was born to father Mineichi, and mother Hisano of Setoda-cho, Toyota County, Hiroshima Prefecture (Ikuchi Island in present-day Setoda-cho, Onomichi City) and would be the second son in a family of 4 male and 5 female children on June 15, 1930. Ikuchi Island is blessed with the warm climate of the Seto Inland Sea and has many historic temples and shrines such as the three-story pagoda of the Kojoji Temple and Komyobo Temple, which is said to have been founded in the Nara Period. As a sensitive Ikuo and inquisitive boy, he spent his days romping about on the Island’s beaches gently lapped by ultramarine-hued surrounding waters.
This aesthetic sense and sensitivity nurtured by his beautiful natural environment and the deep affection of his faithful parents are very much alive in his later paintings.