The son of the founder of Shiseido Company, Fukuhara Arinobu. From a young age, Shinzo dreamed of being a painter, but he studied medicine at the behest of his father. After graduating from Chiba Medicial School (now the School of Medicine, Chiba University) in 1908, studied abroad in the United States. In the States, he visited many art museums, and during travels to Paris, befriended many Japanese painters.

He took the mantle of Shiseido Company upon his return to Japan, and in 1919 established the Shiseido Gallery in Ginza and supported budding artists at what today is the oldest art gallery in the country. In addition to his role as the first president of Shiseido Company, he also kept a constant hand on his camera and left behind many photo works. Along with Nojima Yasuzo, Fukuhara is considered a pioneer of contemporary Japanese photography as it dawned between the end of the Taisho period and the beginning of Meiji.