The Imperial Museums of Meiji JapanIt was not until Japan's opening to the West during the Meiji period (1868 1912) that terms for art (bijutsu) and art museum (bijutsukan) were coined. The Imperial Museums of Meiji Japan documents Japan's unification of national art and cultural resources to forge a modern identity influenced by European museum and exhibition culture. Japan's Imperial Museums were conceived of as national self representations, and their creation epitomized the Meiji