while recuperating, he developed aspirations to become a painter, and in 1906 joined the , before moving the following year to the . that same year he was baptised. in 1908 he began to socialize with artists including ogiwara rokuzan at the atelier in shinjuku. two of his works, "cloudy morning" and "cliffs" (now in the museum of the imperial collections) featured in the third bunten exhibition in 1909, the latter receiving a commendation.