江戸で、三河の田原藩（今の愛知県）の武士の家に生まれました。家が貧しく、若いころから絵を描いて家計を助けました。のちに藩の家老になり、西洋の学問（蘭学）を学びます。西洋画の陰影をとり入れた肖像画、国宝《鷹見泉石像》は、まるで本人がそこにいるようです。幕府の政策を批判したとして罰を受け、謹慎中に自ら命を絶ちました。
Kazan was born in Edo into a samurai family of the Tahara domain (now in Aichi). His family was poor, so he painted from a young age to help them. Later he became a senior official of the domain and studied Western learning. His National Treasure Portrait of Takami Senseki uses Western-style shading and looks almost alive. He was punished for criticizing the shogunate's policies and took his own life while under house arrest.
