He stayed there for ten years and studied under Kanō Shōsen'in and other prominent artists of the time.

However, despite these honors, the economic turmoil created by the fall of the shogunate in 1868 forced Hōgai to seek to support himself with income via more mundane methods.

He worked at casting iron, reclaiming land, and running a shop selling writing instruments.

In 1884, Hōgai attracted the attention of Ernest Fenollosa, an art critic and collector from New England, who befriended him and bought several of his paintings.

Along with Fenollosa, Okakura Kakuzō and Hashimoto Gahō, Hōgai then took part in the Painting Appreciation Society (観画会, Kangakai).