Takehisa Yumeji was born in Okayama Prefecture, and moved to Tokyo in 1901. He first entered Waseda Business School, but abandoned a business career to become an illustrator for newspapers and magazines. Although he was self-taught, Yumeji greatly admired the paintings of beautiful women by Kaburagi Kiyokata (1878-1973), and the more decorative work of Fujishima Takeji (1867-1943). His regard for Takeji was so great, he modeled his own sobriquet after that painter's. In his youth Yumeji cherished activist ideals and sought socialist publishing venues such as the Heimin newspaper. Later, discouraged by the government suppression of such enterprises, Yumeji turned to expressing romantic, nostalgic sentiment in poems and wood-block prints. He developed a popular female type rendered with large, dreamy eyes. These ventures were extremely successful through the 1910's and 1920's, and his images, based upon traditional print making but updated with elements from Western painting, are among those that capture the optimism of those prosperous times. Yumeji is known primarily as a print maker, but he also made paintings of beautiful women in traditional style that display his facility with the brush. With time he grew restless in his work, and set off in 1930 for three years of adventure in America and Europe. In 1933, soon after returning to Japan, he died, distressed by world fascism and frustrated in his work.