Explanation
Correct answer: B.
Choice B is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of Hishida Shunsō’s painting Cat and Plum Blossoms. In this context, "embraced" means accepted or adopted readily. The text begins by identifying Cat and Plum Blossoms as an example of Nihonga, or classical (that is, traditional) Japanese painting. The text continues by drawing a contrast between Hishida’s work and Kuroda Seiki’s work, which differs from that of Hishida in its use of the traditional European method of using oil paints on canvas rather than using traditional Japanese approaches. The text then concludes with an example of one such traditional Japanese painting technique exemplified by Hishida’s Cat and Plum Blossoms—applications of color pigments to a silk scroll—to further develop the contrast between the two artists’ approaches. This context supports the idea that Hishida adopted, or embraced, traditional Japanese approaches.
Why the other choices are wrong
Choice A
Choice A is incorrect because in this context "distrusted" would mean that Hishida was skeptical of or lacked confidence in traditional Japanese approaches to painting. The text begins by stating that Hishida’s painting Cat and Plum Blossoms is an example of Nihonga, or traditional Japanese painting, and then cites Hishida’s application of color pigments to a silk scroll as an instance of a traditional Japanese painting technique. It therefore wouldn’t make sense to say that Hishida’s use of traditional Japanese painting techniques indicates his distrust, or skepticism, of them. Rather, it suggests that he embraced those techniques.
Choice C
Choice C is incorrect because saying that Hishida "released" traditional Japanese approaches to painting in this context would mean that he freed them from any restrictions. In using Hishida’s application of color pigments to a silk scroll in Cat and Plum Blossoms as an example of a traditional Japanese approach to painting found in Nihonga, the text strongly implies that Hishida followed these approaches, not that he removed them from any restrictions.
Choice D
Choice D is incorrect because in this context "overlooked" would mean ignored or failed to notice. The text establishes that Hishida’s painting Cat and Plum Blossoms is a notable work of Nihonga, or classical Japanese painting, that features the traditional technique of applying color pigments to a silk scroll. It wouldn’t make sense to say that Hishida’s use of a traditional Japanese approach to painting indicates that Hishida failed to notice those approaches.