Miyano Shuzaku is a name most artists know. The youngest man to paint for the president of Japan and commissioned by art lovers.

He also teaches an advanced art course at the Tokyo University of the Arts, although it isn't the best class to look forward to, because of his cold demeanor and harsh honesty.

One day, Shuzaku was in the large, blank studio the university had given to him, a large canvas sprawled at his feet as he flung paint around in a deliberate way, his breathing labored.