Hiroaki Takahashi was born in Tokyo , Japan , in 1871 . As a young artist he was given the artistic name Shotei by his uncle , Matsumoto Fuko , under whose tutelage he was apprenticing . When he was 16 years old , he started a job with the Imperial Household Department of Foreign Affairs , where he copied the designs of foreign ceremonial objects . As with many Japanese woodblock artists over his lifetime he signed his work with various names and worked for several publishing companies . After studying art , Shotei and Terazaki Kogyo founded the Japan Youth Painting Society in 1889 . In 1907 , as a successful artist , he was recruited by Shōzaburō Watanabe to contribute to the Shin Hanga ( " New Prints " ) art movement in Japan . Watanabe helped to fulfill the Western demand for Ukiyoe woodblock prints which would be similar to familiar historical masters of that genre , including Hiroshige . In about 1921 Shotei added the artistic name of Hiroaki . In 1923 the Great Kanto earthquake ( and subsequent fire ) destroyed Watanabe 's facilities ; this included all Shin Hanga woodblocks . Thus , Shotei recreated prior designs destroyed in the Great Kanto earthquake and also continued to produce new woodblocks . Shotei died of pneumonia on February 11 , 1945 . There is a persistent rumor that he died in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima , but this is incorrect . Since Watanabe produced artwork for Western collectors there are numerous copies of Shotei woodblocks in Western museums including the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston , Massachusetts
Great Kanto earthquake
1923 Great Kantō earthquake
Takahashi Shōtei