Uemura Shoko studied under Nishiyama Suisho upon entering the Kyoto City School of Painting in 1921. While at school, his work was accepted for display at the 3rd Teiten for the first time, and he later played a major role in a number of government-sponsored exhibitions. However, he left Nitten, which was renamed from Teiten in 1947, which he thought had become complacent with its age-old traditions, and established "Sozo Bijutsukyokai (the Society for Creation of Art)". Later he played an active role in this art association, reinventing Nihonga and imbuing fresh perspectives to paintings of birds and flowers by reinforcing them with modern compositions while still retaining the traditional sketching techniques of the Maruyama-Shijo school of painting. During this period he created such masterpieces as "Peacock" and "Night Herons." He was awarded the Order of Cultural Merit for his distinguished work in 1959. The exhibition features some 70 representative paintings and sketches by Uemura Shoko from his early to late years, and traces back the career of this outstanding painter.
