Born in 1886 in Ushigome, Tokyo, as the second son of army medical officer Fujita Tsugaki. He studied Western painting at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts under Kuroda Seiki, graduating in 1910. In 1913, aged 26, he traveled alone to France and settled in Montparnasse in Paris. He befriended Picasso, Modigliani, Soutine, and Kisling of the École de Paris. Applying the line-drawing techniques of yamato-e and ukiyo-e to oil painting by self-study, he perfected nudes with delicate outlines drawn by fine Japanese brush and a 'milky-white skin' (grand fond blanc) from his own secret ground preparation. He became an overnight star in 1920s Paris. He returned to Japan in 1933. From 1938, as a war artist, he produced many war paintings; works such as 'Last Stand at Attu' won great acclaim. After the war, taken to task for his wartime cooperation, he became isolated, and in 1949 traveled to France via the United States. He naturalized as French in 1955, received Catholic baptism in 1959, and became 'Léonard Foujita.' In 1966 he completed the 'Chapel of Our Lady of Peace' (Foujita Chapel) in Reims, which he himself designed. On January 29, 1968, he died of cancer in Zurich, Switzerland, aged 81, and was buried in the chapel.

With his distinctive bowl-cut hair, round glasses, and mustache, he was affectionately nicknamed 'Fou-Fou' in Paris. He loved parties and was sociable, while also having the artisan temperament of keeping all his techniques secret. He married five times; he stayed with his wife Kimiyo to the end. He loved cats and women.

A leading figure of the École de Paris, he is the only Japanese to appear in earnest in 20th-century art history at world level. His original 'milky-white skin' technique was kept secret. The Pola Museum (Hakone), National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo, and Akita Museum of Art hold many of his works; the Akita Museum houses the huge mural 'Events in Akita.' The Foujita Chapel in Reims is still open to the public.