Under the guidance of Ernest Fenollosa, an American scholar in his employ, Kano Hogai became a key figure in switching the focus of the Kano school from traditional painting to modern Nihon-ga. With a fusion of powerful lines and dense, splendid colors, the painting has a somewhat kitsch appearance, but it is a historically significant work in that the subject matter, lines, and colors are all reflective of Fenollosa’s teachings. Moreover, a recent scientific survey has revealed that Western pigments were used in lieu of traditional Japanese colorants. In terms of both expression and subject, modern Nihon-ga was launched as a fusion with Western painting.