Abstract
Sozo Kurahashi was the figure who had led the discussions on early childhood care and education of Japan during the Taisho Era and the first half of the Showa Era. His thoughts are marked by an emphasis on young children’s spontaneity and a teacher’s guidance for children to be able to demonstrate it. This article focuses on his thoughts on music education, which also centered on children’s spontaneity. His thinking revolved around two
main aspects: being self-motivated to perform a musical piece and children’s original expression. Although the pursuit of a better performance of an existing piece appears to contradict the concept of spontaneity, he claims that children may spontaneously discover the value of musical culture. Therefore, he regards the concept of spontaneity in an integrated manner.
