He believed that photography and painting should develop independently from each other. In the years that he was active as a photographer, Shiihara painted over 100 of large scenery paintings. In a statement about his father's art, Tamotsu states:Having learnt western painting at the Tokyo Fine arts School, he relied on his artistic sensibility and the techniques that he had obtained there and took pride in them. I think it is due to this that he resolutely challenged both the medium of photography and painting during the years.Shiihara is also known for his contribution to the Wandering Jew series that documented the plight of Jewish refugees temporarily staying in Kobe during the Pacific War as they awaited visas to enter the United States and South America. He worked other members of the Tampei Photography Club like Nakaji Yasui, Toru Kono, Kaneyoshi Tabuchi, Kametaro Kawasaki, and Yutaka Tezuka.
