Kunishirō Mitsutani

Kunishirō Mitsutani studied at Okayama Prefectural Okayama Asahi High School and Sōja City Sōja Elementary School. Training under Asajirō Yoshitomi, Goseda Hōryū and Koyama Shōtarō is recorded. Shigeru Yoshida is recorded as having studied under Kunishirō Mitsutani. Work by Kunishirō Mitsutani is recorded in the collections of Museum of the Imperial Collections.

His uncle, Hori Wada, was a businessman who also created some of the first Western-style paintings in Okayama. During his primary education, he displayed an early aptitude for art and was discovered by Yoshitomi Asajirō, a well-known artist who was serving as a substitute teacher. After graduating, in 1891, he went to Tokyo. The following year, he began studies with Koyama Shōtarō at his private school; "Fudō-sha" (不同社; roughly, Diversity). In 1900, he went to Europe to exhibit at the Exposition Universelle, won an award, and stayed there through 1901; taking a few lessons from Jean-Paul Laurens. Upon his return, he and some like-minded artists created "Pacific Art", an association devoted to Western-style painting. In 1907, he served as a jury member at the first exhibition held by the Ministry of Culture. Later that same year, he was awarded first prize at the Economic Development Fair sponsored by Tokyo Prefecture. He returned to Europe in 1911 for further studies, with financial assistance from Magosaburō Ōhara, and lived there until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. He was named a member of the Japan Art Academy in 1925. Over the next few years, he visited China four times. During this time, his works became more decorative in nature. During his later years, he was closely involved with the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery.