Abstract
The aim of this paper is to explore factors that had a significant impact on art education in Japan after World War II, from the new viewpoint of the continuity and discontinuity of the Souzo Biiku Movement before and after the war. To this end, continuity and discontinuity before and after the war were examined from both the viewpoint of what was happening inside the Souzo Biiku Movement and the viewpoint of its public relationship with traditional art education. The study indicated that the following factors had a significant impact on post-war art education: (1) the existence of continuity in the Souzo Biiku Movement before and after World War II; (2) the fact that the evaluation of children’s pictures in the Souzo Biiku Movement is “competitive” rather than “educational,” demonstrating continuity with pre-war competitive judgment of children’s pictures; (3) the fact that, at the same time, discontinuity with the past judgment of children’s pictures is demonstrated by the fact that evaluation of children’s pictures in the Souzo Biiku Movement focuses on the child’s attitude and approach to the picture rather than on technical aspects; (4) the fact that the policies and style of the Souzo Biiku Movement are discontinuous with past traditional education and research; and (5) the discontinuity of the Souzo Biiku Movement with history and tradition.
