Yoshida Hiroshi

Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950)

He was a Japanese painter and printmaker, particularly renowned as a leading figure in landscape painting. Discovered by the Western-style painter Kaisaburo Yoshida at the Shuyukan school in Fukuoka, he was adopted into Yoshida's family. He later studied under the Western-style painter Sotatsu Tamura in Kyoto and joined the Fudosha school in Tokyo. He was a member of the Meiji Fine Arts Society, and his talent became internationally recognized through his exhibitions throughout the United States and Europe. In 1902, he founded the Pacific Painting Society, and won numerous awards at the 1907 Tokyo Exposition and the Ministry of Education Art Exhibition.

In 1920, Yoshida met Shozaburo Watanabe and began to engage in creating modern prints. However, after losing everything in the Great Kanto Earthquake, he traveled to the United States for the third time and his woodblock print works were highly praised. He later established his own studio and started publishing his works as a publisher. During the war, he served as a war artist, and his works were highly regarded among the occupying forces after the war. Yoshida passed away in 1950 due to old age.