but this helped little. For his part, Kuroda maintained a public silence on the issue; privately, however, he expressed the opinion that morally, at least, he had won the day. Further controversy erupted in October of the same year, when Kuroda exhibited 21 of his works done in Europe at the 7th Exhibition of the Meiji Fine Art Society. Kume also entered some of his work in the exhibition, as did several of Kuroda's students from the Tenshin Dōjō. Visitors were struck by the vast differences between Kuroda's plein-air-derived style and the more formal work of the other artists, leading critics to focus on the difference as one between the old and the new. Some even went so far as to suggest a factional rivalry between two "schools" of painting, an "Old School," represented by the Meiji Fine Art Society and the "New School," represented by Kuroda and his students. Displeased by the bureaucratic methods inherent in the hierarchy of the Meiji Fine Art Society, Kuroda withdrew from the society in June 1896 and founded his own, rival art society, along with Kume and a number of their students. The new group was christened the "White Horse Society" (白馬会, Hakubakai), after a brand of unrefined sake they favored called "White Horse" (白馬, Shirouma). The White Horse Society had no set rules; rather, it was a free, equal gathering of like-thinking artists whose only goal was to find a way for members to display their works. The group held exhibitions every year until it dissolved in 1911; in total, thirteen shows were held. A number of prominent artists received their first public exposure in these exhibitions; among them were Fujishima Takeji and Aoki Shigeru. Academic career By 1896, Kuroda was at the peak of his career. That May Okakura Tenshin, the Dean of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (Tokyo Bijutsu Gakkō, present-day Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music), appointed Kuroda as the director of the newly established Department of Western-style Painting. This allowed him to design an even broader curriculum, meant for general students of art, and to be better equipped to reach a broader public. An academic role, with its emphasis on structure and conformity, contrasted with the painter's focus on individuality, but Kuroda nonetheless approached his new role with zeal. In particular, Kuroda stressed the importance of painting outdoors directly from nature (plein air), and insisted