Zaisen was highly active in the Kyoto art world, In 1867, he was selected to represent Japan at the Paris International Exposition. In 1880, he became one of 43 "shusshi" (appointee) instructors at the Kyoto Prefectural School of Painting (京都府画学校), where he continued to teach until 1894. From early Meiji on, Zaisen was a committee member in art associations such as the "Joun-sha" and the "Kōso Kyōhai", which organized meetings and competitions. From 1882 through the 1890s, he participated in a number of Domestic Painting Competitions ("Naikoku Kaiga Kyoshinkai"), at which he won several awards.