A Study of the Historical Development and Acceptance of “Peasant Art”:

From the perspective of Creating Culture in Rural Areas

Abstract

This study aims to elucidate the historical positioning of the Peasant Art Movement promoted by Kanae Yamamoto from the perspective of contemporaneous cultural ideas and social systems. This movement started in Kangawa Village, Nagano Prefecture in 1919. At that time, the word “peasant” was a symbol of opposition to capitalism and urban civilization. Peasant art, however, was widely accepted by society, positioning it as a side business for the promotion of rural areas. Here, on the premise of economic activity, we can see realistic measures to solve the problems of rural society through arts and crafts. In addition, Yamamoto’s philosophy of aiming to realize “creative labor” in rural areas had a significance as social education. Even now, when the meaning of the word “peasant” has changed, peasant art is still produced as a traditional craft in Nagano. By tracing the transition of its acceptance over 100 years, this essay demonstrates the process of creating a regional culture in which a cultural movement is established as a tradition.