Meaning of Japanese traditional-style drawing lessons in current school education

Abstract

In my view, educational practices related to saving traditional culture should be effective not only in preserving the culture but also in helping children learn. An examination of previous studies suggests that it is necessary to develop a new educational meaning for Japanese traditional culture. The aims of this study are, first, to identify the educational meaning of Japanese traditional drawing lessons in schools today and, second, to train future teachers in the method of teaching traditional drawing and to verify the effects of such training in a university class. Instructional trials were conducted in an elementary school and a university. The trials were related to a ringa lesson (Japanese traditional-style drawing instruction). Through the above trials, I identified the educational significance of these lessons, which appeared to raise schoolchildren's visual literacy in retrieving information. The study shows that it is effective to introduce Japanese traditional drawing instruction to future teachers and to use this teaching method as a unit in a university class.