Keinen Imao was born in Kyoto, his original name was Imao Isaburo. He studied ukiyo-e painting with Umegata Tokyo and other Japanese styles with Suzuki Hyakunen. In 1880, he began to teach as a professor at the Kyoto Prefecture School of Painting. In 1904, he became a member of the Art Committee of the Imperial Household and a Member of the Imperial Art Academy in 1919. An important Japanese style painter, Keinen specialized in Kacho-ga (Flower and Bird prints) with very realistic detail. He is best known for “Bird and Flower Albums by Keinen”, 1891, a set of 4 volumes, each containing 40 prints, published by Nishimura Soemon, carved by Tanaka Hirokichi and printed by Miki Jinzaburo.