Takenouchi Kyuichi started his sculpture career studying ivory carving.

Two years after he finished his apprenticeship as an ivory sculptor, he was aspired by the old wood sculptures at temples in Nara, and decided to become a wood sculptor. He was hired by the Tokyo Fine Arts School (antecedent of this University) a year after it was established in 1887, and received a prize at the 3rd National Exhibition in 1890 for his huge wooden statue of Emperor Jinmu.

He became professor at the School in 1891, and at the same time created copies of old sculptures for the Imperial Museum (the present Tokyo National Museum). He exhibited his second huge sculpture, the Gigeiten, in the 1893 Chicago Columbus World Fair.

He was appointed Imperial Artist in 1906, and acted as judge to various exhibitions both international and domestic, until he died in 1916, still holding the post as a professor of the Tokyo Fine Arts School.