Stereotypically, Japanese painting as late as the 19th century never seems to have attained the realism of Western art. Is this a fair representation, and is there a reason for this?

by Kantor48

I understand that realism is not the be all and end all of art (and I find traditional Japanese art quite beautiful) but it's striking that we have realistic portraits of European monarchs going back to Tudor times, and none of Japanese figures until very recently.

Dokomox

If I can throw an additional question on top of this; what was the general Japanese reaction to seeing western art for the first time? Are there any recorded accounts?