Japanese people did not use to have the concept of a painter as an artist in and before the Edo period, but they thought of a painting specialist as a technician or a craftsman who had excellent skills of painting.
江戸期以前の日本には芸術家としての「画家」という概念が無く、絵画の専門家は絵を描く技能に長けた技能者あるいは職人と見なされていた。