Torajiro Watanabe, who contributed art reviews to
Japanese-language newspapers, was also active as an
artist and exhibited this folding screen depicting a dragon
ascending to the heavens at the 7th Independent Artists
Association Exhibition in 1923.

The Nichibei Jiho (Japan-America Times) reported, “The pair of folding screens depicting the Ascension of the Dragon was a particularly striking work in the exhibition hall. (Kageshi Morningside, “Seeing the Independent Art Exhibition,” The Japan-America Jiho, March 17, 1923), and it was talked about as an Eastern-style work.