Kitani Chigusa (木谷 千種) was born in 1895 in Osaka, her maiden name was Yoshioka Ei. She studied art with Fukada Chokujô (1861-1947) in Osaka, then moved to Seattle (US) where she stayed two years. Upon her return to Japan in 1913, she moved to Tokyo where she studied with Ikeda Shôen (1886-1917). In 1915, she returned to Osaka and became a pupil of Tsunetomi Kitano, Noda Kyuho and later studied with Kikuchi Keigetsu in Kyoto.
In 1920 she married Kitani Hôgin and established a painting school in her home in Osaka. She died in 1947, aged 51.
