Abstract
Reflecting on the perspective of "zoukei-asobi" (art play) as designated in the 2008 Japanese Government Curriculum Guidelines, this paper looks at the practice of the art activity of "making a giant maze" conducted by pairing students from different elementary school grades. The worksheets (picture diaries) of grade 5 students were examined and the meaning of and issues related to "zoukei-asobi" were investigated. Through observing both the verbal and pictorial aspects of the reasons why children enjoyed the activity, it was found that the grounds for this enjoyment could be divided broadly between the process of making the giant maze and the process of playing in it. "Zoukei-asobi" is an activity that combines both art and play, and thus has the capacity to arouse interest in most children in correspondence with their stage of growth. As well as reaffirming the special nature of "zoukei-asobi" as an expressive element of the subject of art, this study highlighted issues related to invigorating "zoukei-asobi" and the direction to take to achieve this.
