Hiroaki Takahashi

Hiroaki Takahashi (1871-1945), also known as Shotei or Komei, was an illustrator, painter and woodblock printer from Tokyo. He learned the art of Nihonga, Japanese style painting, from his uncle Fuko Matsumoto during the early Taisho period.

His works cover scenes from villages, shrines, and nature, most of them signed with a variety of his artist names. Shotei worked for the Shin Hanga publisher Shozaburo Watanabe and they created hundreds of woodblock prints together. Unfortunately most of them were destroyed in a fire during the Great Kanto earthquake. Despite the loss, Shotei continued to make woodblock prints until the end of his life.