early life and training kokei kobayashi, a renowned japanese nihonga painter, was born in 1883. his life took an early turn when he became an orphan at a young age. at the age of 17, he moved to tokyo, where he began his journey in traditional japanese painting under the tutelage of kajita hanko. this marked the beginning of his association with the restored japan academy of art, where he would eventually become one of its most notable…