Kume Kôichi was born in Tokyo in 1917. Before WWII he became an elementary school teacher, while studying painting at the Taiheiyogakai, an artists' association of Western-style painters. In this period he also started making woodblock prints. He contributed to the magazine Karikare, published between May 1938 an April 1941. Its main editor, Ota Koji was, like Kume Kôichi, dedicated to promoting print education for children.
