From the late 1920s AD, Japan’s international relations declined and the possibility of war became ever more likely. The increasing militarisation of society during the 1930s affected artistic production. The experimentation and diversity of the previous decade disappeared and conservative tastes were dominant. Artists were expected to make works that demonstrated the 'Japanese spirit.' Painting in the traditional format of mineral pigments on silk or paper was favoured over the inferior and unsuitable Western oil painting.

The straitened economic conditions during the war also caused a sharp curtailment of artistic activities. Although some painters and print-artists participated in producing visual propaganda to support the war, others simply stopped working.

After the final surrender, some artists turned their attention to the social impact of defeat on the populace, and to those returning from the colonies. During the Allied Occupation censorship rules or 'guidance' restricted what could be said and how. Once sovereignty was restored in 1952, however, there was much greater artistic freedom, and tremendous interest in the activities of the international art world. In the 1960s, building on earlier artists' participation in currents such as surrealism and Dada, new, ground-breaking art collectives developed, whose members were now in the vanguard of international trends.