asakura fumio was a western-style japanese sculptor, known as the father of modern japanese sculpture and referred to as the 'rodin of japan'. he was born in oita prefecture, japan in 1883 and died in tokyo, japan in 1964. he was a prolific artist, and his work spanned the meiji, taishō, and shōwa periods of japanese history. he is known for his western-style sculptures, especially nudes, and his portrait sculptures of notable people. he was appointed to the imperial fine arts academy in 1919 and became a professor of his alma mater, tokyo school of fine arts, in 1921.