Matsukata Masayoshi
Upon Gowland's departure from Japan in 1888, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class, and a 3,000-yen bonus from then-Finance Minister Matsukata Masayoshi. Once back in England, he published numerous works about his researches in Japan and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. He donated many of the artefacts that he brought back to England to the British Museum, as well as a collection of souvenirs from Buddhist temples. Gowland was also an avid collector of "Nihonga"-style Japanese paintings.