A native of Kyoto, Suzuki Sh?nen was a professional painter, the son of Suzuki Hyakunen, an artist who worked in the Shij? and Nanga painting styles. After the country became more open to the West in the second half of the nineteenth century, they made efforts to preserve the subjects and style of traditional Japanese painting. Sh?nen received a number of commissions from local temples and taught Japanese-style painting at the Kyoto Prefectural School of Painting. He won awards for his art at both national and international exhibitions, including the Chicago World Exposition and the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900.