Ernest Fenollosa, the man who taught the West about traditional Japanese art, first came to Japan in 1878, when he was invited to teach philosophy and political economy at Tokyo University. In 1886, he resigned and accepted a contract with the Ministry of Education and the Imperial household. That left him with more time to follow his real interest -- saving Japanese art.
It was being neglected and worse, as Japan rushed westward. Not only were paintings, prints and scrolls disregarded, there were also reports of whole pagodas being dismantled for firewood. Fenollosa sought to stop this. He saved many pieces from destruction, and in the process acquired a very fine private collection that can now be seen in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
Instrumental in the founding of what is now the Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music, the first institution to reassess Japanese art, Fenollosa later moved to Boston, where he headed the museum's Oriental Department. He returned to Japan a final time in 1897.