He was the son of a doctor and displayed an interest in art at a very early age. At the age of fourteen, he and his friend,
Yamamoto Baiitsu (who was only seven) made the acquaintance of Kamiya Ten’yū (?-1803), a wealthy merchant who collected art and calligraphy and helped them pursue their artistic education. His first works were copies made from Kamiya's collection. He was especially influenced by ink drawings from the period of the Chinese
Yuan Dynasty and the painting techniques of
Ni Zan. At the age of twenty, he opened his own studio in a small temple. After Kamiya's death, he and Baiitsu went to Kyoto to pursue an interest in classical literature and became members of the literary circle focused on the philosopher
Rai San'yō and the nanga artist . He continued his training there and, together with Uragami, he wrote and published an illustrated book on painting called
Gadō kongōsho (画道金剛杵; roughly, "The Heavenly Art of Painting"). He would later compose other works on his own, including
Chikutō garon (竹洞画論; "Chikutō's Painting") and
Chikutō gakyō (竹洞画稿; "Chikutō's Sketching). His son, , also became a painter and worked in the Chinese
Northern Style. His daughter Kiyomi created some works in the style of the
Southern School. His work is kept in several museums, including the
Indianapolis Museum of Art, the
Harvard Art Museums, the
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the
Minneapolis Institute of Art, the
Ashmolean Museum, the
University of Michigan Museum of Art, and the
Cleveland Museum of Art. == Selected works ==