Watanabe Shotei was a Japanese painter active from the Meiji period to the Taisho period. Specializing in exquisite and stylish paintings of flowers and birds, he has held exhibitions at the Paris World Expo and solo exhibitions in London, winning high praise from Europe and the United States. In Japan, he is recognized for his original paintings of the Akasakanomiya Guest House. Shōtei, a lifelong resident of Asakusa, is a painter who stubbornly protects Japan's aesthetic consciousness. On the other hand, his outstanding painting and descriptive skills were very outstanding in the Japanese art world at that time. In the Meiji 20s, he established a unique style of painting that blends traditional and Western styles.

In 1878, he traveled to the United States and Europe, stayed in Paris for three years, became the first Japanese painter to learn Western painting, and exhibited at the Paris Exposition. After returning from Europe, he collaborated with the artist Sosuke Wagawa (1847-1910) to create ceramics and Jingtai blue designs, which won praise abroad.

He created a large number of paintings and illustrations and produced three excellent books: Seitei kacho gafu (“Birds and Flowers of Shōtei”), 1890-91; Kacho gafu (“Birds and Flowers Album”), 1903; the last series published in 1916 was also called Seitei kacho gafu.

Watanabe Shotei was known as a master of flower and bird painting during his lifetime, but he was gradually forgotten after his death. In recent years, the momentum of re-evaluation by researchers and art lovers has increased, with a steady increase in attention. In March 2021, the first retrospective exhibition "Watanabe Bookstore - A Flower and Bird Painting that Fascinates Europe and the United States" was held at domestic museums, starting from the Tokyo University of the Arts University Art Museum.