Kano Hōgai (1828–1888) was a Japanese-style painter active from the late Edo period through to the Meiji era. Born into a family of court painters for the Chōfu Domain, he mastered the techniques of the Kano school; however, following the Meiji Restoration, he re-examined the nature of traditional painting and sought to create a new form of Japanese painting by incorporating Western techniques such as shading and three-dimensional representation. He was closely associated with Fenollosa and Okakura Tenshin, and played a key role in the founding of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. His masterpiece, *The Sorrowful Mother Kannon*, masterfully blends the spirit of classical Buddhist painting with a modern sense of form.

When viewing Hōgai’s works, one senses not only a commitment to preserving the long-standing traditions of the Kano school, but also a strong determination to adapt them to the times. In particular, *The Sorrowful Mother Kannon*, whilst possessing the tranquillity characteristic of Buddhist paintings, offers a fresh approach to the three-dimensionality of the figures and the depiction of light; it is a striking work that stands at the crossroads of tradition and modernity. To me, the appeal of Kano Hōgai lies not in merely tracing a perfected style, but in the fact that he sought his own path for Japanese painting to advance into the next era.