Born the eldest son to a greengrocer in Nishiki Alley, Takakura, Kyoto, with the given name Jokin and family name Keiwa. Also went by the names Tobeian and Beito’o. After devoting himself to painting and Zen, receiving the householder (Buddhist practitioners who do so from home) title of Jakuchu, at age 40 he turned the family business over to his brother to concentrate on painting. Studying under the Kano school at first, in time he copied Chinese paintings from the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties at ancient temples in Kyoto. Influenced by the detailed paintings of flowers and birds by Shen Nanpin, which were popular at the time, as well as ink paintings associated with the Obaku school of Zen Buddhism, he perfected an art style that skillfully blended realism and imagination. He died at the age of 85.