noun
founder; originator; introducer
Rare literary term for the person who first started or introduced something, such as a school of thought, art, or practice. Modern Japanese more commonly uses 創始者, 開祖, or 元祖.
彼は日本における印象派の鼻祖と見なされている。
He is regarded as the introducer of Impressionism in Japan.
創始者 is a neutral, modern term for a founder or originator, preferred in everyday contexts over the rare 鼻祖.
From Chinese 鼻祖 (bízǔ), literally 'nose ancestor', meaning the earliest ancestor or founder. The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the spelling is conventionally associated with the meaning 'founder'.