Atsushi Uemura, a famous Japanese-style painter known for his elegant paintings of birds and flowers, passed away on Friday from natural causes, he was 91.

Uemura was raised by distinguished Japanese-style painters in Kyoto City. His grandmother Shoen Uemura was the first woman to receive the Order of Culture and a master of bijin-ga portraits of beautiful women. Shoko Uemura, his father, was a prominent figure in kacho-ga paintings of flowers and birds.

Uemura attended Kyoto City University of Arts to pursue a degree in painting.

He kept and observed a variety of birds because he was a big fan of birds. This had a big impact on his work and helped him create vibrant, life-filled kacho-ga. For his work “Wild Geese,” he won the Japan Art Academy Prize in 1995.

Uemura received the Order of Culture in 2022, following in the footsteps of his father and grandmother. “Early Morning” and “Four Seasons of Waterside” are among his best-known works.