Born in Saga Prefecture, Okada was a Western-style painter who lived in Tokyo. He was a student of Kuroda Seiki (1866-1924) and Kume Keiichiro (1866-1934) and in 1895 he won an award at the Naikoku Kangyo Hakurankai (Domestic Exposition). When the Tokyo School of Fine Arts opened its western-style painting division in 1896 he taught there for one year. After studying in France from 1897-1901, he returned to Japan and succeeded Kuroda Seiki at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts.

Okada was a founder of Yofu Hangakai (Western-style Print Artists' Society) which was disbanded in 1931 to clear the path for the Nihon Hanga Kyokai (Japanese Print Association), of which Okada was the first president. A member of the Imperial Art Academy and of the Art Committee for the Imperial Household, he won the Order of Cultural Merit in 1937.