This is an imagined autobiography of a Japanese artist who studied in Paris around the year 1900.
The artist, given the name Yamamoto Kiyoki and dates 1875-1967, is the son of Yamamoto Ryusei, a carver of noh masks for the Kanze School. Ryusei's adopted father, Yuji, represents the last glow of the Kanze line of noh actors during the time when things traditional are rapidly falling into neglect in favor of anything Western and new.
Ryusei names his son Kiyoki ("clean wood"), expecting him to inherit his trade, and duly gives him the necessary tools. But from early on, Kiyoki is more interested in painting -- Western painting -- and eventually leaves his father in Kyoto to go to the Tokyo School of Fine Arts.