He was born in what was then Minamiarima, Nagasaki, (now Minamishimabara) on 16 December 1884 and entered Kyoto City University of Arts to study sculpture in 1903.
He began sculpting full-time after his discharge from military service in 1915 and, by 1921, he was a professor at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts.
[1] Kitamura submitted some of his work into an unknown event of the "Mixed Sculpturing" category of the art competitions at the 1932 Summer Olympics, but did not win a medal.
The statue points to the sky, warning from where the bomb and death would fall, his left hand is stretched out in a gesture of peace, and his eyes are closed in prayer for the souls of those who died.
One leg is folded in a position of meditation, but his left foot is on the ground, as he is prepared to stand and assist the people.