Hishida Shunso (1874 – 1911, Japanese)

Hishida Shunso or Shunso Hishida (1874 – 1911, Japanese) his real name Hishida Miyoji, was a Meiji period painter and is known for his paintings of cats and developing a new painting genre called Nihonga. Born in Iida city, he soon moved to Tokyo to study with the artist Yuki Masaaki and eventually enrolled in the forerunner of the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.  Shunso was employed by the Imperial Household Museum (Tokyo National Museum) to copy Buddhist paintings at temples in Kyoto and Nara. In the early 1900’s he traveled to the United States and Europe. When he returned