Her mother supported her decision to pursue an artistic career. She became obsessed with the ukiyo-e, Japanese woodblock print, works of Hokusai. By the age of 15 (1890) she was exhibiting her work and winning awards in official art contests as well as commissioning work for private patrons. As a child at age 12 (1887), Shōen drew pictures and exhibited considerable skill at drawing human figures. Her mother's tea shop attracted a refined, cultured clientele for the art of Japanese tea ceremony. She was born two months after the death of her father and, thus, grew up with her mother and aunts in an all-female household. Shōen was born in Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto, as the second daughter of a tea merchant. In 1949 she died of cancer just a year after receiving the Order of Culture Award. Shōen received many awards and forms of recognition during her lifetime within Japan, being the first female recipient of the Order of Culture award, as well as being hired as the Imperial Household's official artist, which had previously only employed one other official woman in the position. Within the Taisho era, women had made several advancements into the Japanese workforce, and artistry specifically was becoming more popular outside of pass times for the elite, which opened way for Shōen's success.

During bijin-ga's conception in the Tokugawa, or Edo, period, women were regarded as lower class citizens and the genre often reflected this implication onto its female subjects. Bijin-ga gained criticism during the Taisho era while Shōen worked due to its lack of evolution to reflect the more modern statuses of women in Japan. Shōen is considered a major innovator in the bijin-ga genre despite the fact she often still used it to depict the traditional beauty standards of women. Shōen was known primarily for her bijin-ga, or paintings of beautiful women, in the nihonga style, although she produced numerous works on historical themes and traditional subjects. Uemura Shōen ( 上村松園, April 23, 1875 – August 27, 1949) was the pseudonym of an artist in Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa period Japanese painting.

In this Japanese name, the surname is Uemura.

Faceless watercolor portraits