Noguchi Shohin

Shohin was appointed an Imperial household artist — an honour for the most distinguished artists — in 1904 and her pictures were bought by the Japanese Imperial family.

[1] She was a friend of the statesman Kido Takayoshi and she and Okuhara Seiko enjoyed his patronage.

Kido and the two of them would create gassaku which are collaborative paintings that include both pictures and text.

[3] Her surviving paintings seem to show a woman who felt equal to men in her culture.

She illustrates women who appear as literati painting, playing music and doing calligraphy.