By the late 19th century the early Meiji drive towards westernisation was becoming tempered by a concern to maintain traditional Japanese values. In the arts this produced a government policy to establish art academies, and an annual national competitive exhibition - the Bunten - to encourage reinvigorated artistic endeavour. Unlike the largely anonymous studio system of Pre-modern times, individual artists increasingly gained respect and experimented with an artistic approach which, while clearly building on a long history of aesthetic themes, acknowledged the new international context.

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