Born in Yokohama, son of a merchant serving the Fukui domain; his real name was Kakuzō.
He graduated from the University of Tokyo and joined the Ministry of Education.
Surveying temple treasures with Fenollosa, he opened the shrine of the long-hidden Kannon statue in the Yumedono of Hōryū-ji.
He became head of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (today's Tokyo University of the Arts), nurturing Japanese art.
Forced out of the school, he founded the Japan Art Institute with Yokoyama Taikan, Hishida Shunsō and others.
He wrote The Ideals of the East in English, declaring "Asia is one".
He was put in charge of the Chinese and Japanese art department at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
He published The Book of Tea in English, conveying the Japanese spirit through the tea ceremony, and based himself at Izura in Ibaraki.
He died of illness at his mountain villa in Akakura, Niigata.
Ernest FenollosaYokoyama TaikanHishida Shunsō
Uchimura KanzōTanabe SakurōMori ŌgaiNitobe InazōTsuda UmekoFutabatei ShimeiKawakami OtojirōKuroda Seiki
People of the Meiji period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.