Koson Ohara was born in 1877 in Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture in the North of Japan with the given name Ohara Matao. He had studied Japanese painting as an art student of Suzuki Koson, whose name he adopted as his artist go. During his career he changed his name to Shoson and Hoson. So when you read Ohara Shoson or Ohara Hoson or the other way round as Shoson Ohara or Hoson Ohara, don't be confused. It is the same artist. Koson Ohara died in 1945 in Tokyo.