During the Meiji period, there were many genkun who were good at calligraphy, including Hirobumi ITO (Hirobumi), Taneomi SOEJIMA (Taneomi), Takayoshi KIDO (Takayoshi), Toshimichi OKUBO (Toshimichi), Sanetomi SANJO (Sanetomi), and Takamori SAIGO (Takamori).
明治の元勲には能書が多く、伊藤博文（博文）、副島種臣（種臣）、木戸孝允（孝允）、大久保利通（利通）、三条実美（実美）、西郷隆盛（隆盛）などがあげられる。