Atomi Kakei was born in Osaka into the rural elite. Both of her parents were well-educated, and they both taught at her father's juku.
As the daughter of a scholar of Chinese learning, she had the opportunity to be educated in the Chinese Classics, a field that was traditionally male dominated.[3] She studied calligraphy under Setsuan Miyahara, a student of Sanyo Rai. She studied painting under painters Oryu Maruyama, Raisho Nakajima, and Hine Taizan.[4] She is known for her decorative work inside the Sakura, Chiba mansion of Hotta Masatomo.[1]
In 1857, she moved to Kyoto to study. She returned to her family several years later to help her father run his juku. There, she taught painting, calligraphy, and poetry. By 1870, she had run a juku in Osaka for six years and in Kyoto for five. However, her primary interest was in art rather than education. That same year, she moved to Tokyo, where she later founded the Atomi School.[3]
In Tokyo, the social conditions of women in the city inspired her to reform girls' education. She opened another juku, which eventually grew to become the Atomi School.[3]
The Atomi School taught girls practical subjects in addition to Chinese and Japanese Classics. Atomi Kakei served as the head of the school until 1919, when she was replaced by her adopted daughter. She remained active with the school and the cause of women's education until her death in 1926.[3]
