This study seeks clarify users' impressions and actual usage of online learning sites, especially OCW (Open Course Ware). It also proposes versatile design principles measures that can increase the efficiency of OCW exploration and improve learning effectiveness. Therefore, we investigated two aspects of usability design and instructional design. Based on the results, the following design improvement measures were proposed.

■Homepage: 1) The key visual should be expressed in a way that is friendly to the user while also conveying the personality of the university. 2) The starting position of the navigation should be placed at the top of the page to make it stand out, and only one navigation route should be used.

■Search page: Use only one search page layout to allow users to check lecture information while narrowing their search.

■Learning page: 1) The lecture video page should list all other related learning information. 2) The “basic information” (title, objectives, time, etc.) of lecture should be easy to understand and confirmed before commencing learning. 3) Provide as much information as possible, including faculty profiles, photos, social networking profiles, and more. 4) Present information in a way that makes it easy for users to. understand how to use social networking sites. 5) Indicate the availability of content, such as homework assignments, answers, and more. 6) A variety of learning resources (videos, slides, and reference books.) should be selectable, and subtitles should be available to support the audio. It also became clear that awareness of the need to provide information on “participation, cooperation, and evaluation” on the learning page should be raised and that evaluation methods by learners need to be considered.

The Tempera grassa technique used by the Italian Florentine painter Pietro Annigoni (1910-1988) is described in catalogs of his works, biographies of his life, and books by his students. However, there are only a few previous studies on the Annigoni's technique that show the specific production process from undercoating to completion, and the technique has only been passed down to the surviving students of Annigoni. Although it is known from some books that Annigoni used Japanese paper as a base, it is not known when and to what extent he used it in his works, as it is omitted from the catalogs and captions of his works in museums.

This paper clarifies the production process and characteristics of Annigoni's series of tempera grassa, and examines why Annigoni dared to use Japanese paper as a base for his works, and what effect Japanese paper had on the figurative expression of his works, based on field research.

As a result, we were able to infer that Annigoni's tempera grassa technique began with the Venetian School in his early years and gradually shifted to the Northern Renaissance technique.

It is also clear that Japanese paper was used as a base for almost all the tempera paintings he painted in his studio from the late 1940s onward. In addition, Annigoni's tempera paintings that used Japanese paper as a base were created using delicate tempera paints that made the most of the texture of the paper, indicating the close relationship between Japanese paper and Annigoni's tempera technique in terms of formative expression.

In this paper, I analyze two projects of dispatching artists to schools in Saitama City and Kawaguchi City, Saitama Prefecture. In these projects, artists are appointed as teachers in the art class of elementary and junior high schools, and they are assigned to teach oneunit lessons.

I was involved in the Kawaguchi City project; therefore, I analyze it from the point of view of the project coordinator. Because I have unique local connections, I was able to cover the Saitama City project, of which very little information was available. I was able to obtain information by visiting schools and conducting interviews with the person in charge (the coordinator).

I compared certain aspects of the two projects, such as the purpose and significance of the projects, the artists to be dispatched, and the selection of schools. In addition, I compared issues and future potentials observed by the coordinators. Through these comparisons, I examined whether the two projects functioned as “Art Classes.”

In Kawaguchi City, curators belonging to the civic gallery, and in Saitama City, teachers belonging to the board of education coordinated each project. I also noted that the differences in the coordinators' expertise affected the directions and developments of the projects and produced various effects and issues.

In this paper, I researched how A/r/tography, a methodology of inquiry of artists/researchers/teachers, improves the reflection and inquiry of art workshop practitioners. I did a case study on an art workshop practitioner's inquiry through manga (comic) to determine if the feature of A/r/tography that includes both visual and written processes is effective for the practitioner's reflection and inquiry related to their workshop practices.

As manga contains both pictures and words, reflection and inquiry through it requires visualization of one's thinking process that could be better expressed in a visual or a written way. Through the case study it became clear that through reflection and inquiry, the practitioner extracted important scenes/episodes related to his/her research question and expressed them as consecutive “koma” (manga panels), utilizing the character representing him/herself and the dialogue/narration that shows his/her thought through the reflection and inquiry.

In addition, it is suggested that reflection and inquiry including both visual and written aspects can improve the practitioner's cognition–expression cycle, as well as provoke inner discovery, leading to a deeper reflection and inquiry process.

This paper aims to clarify Yanagi Muneyoshi (1889-1961)’s interpretation of Hamada Shoji(1894-1978)’s salt glaze from the 1950s. Both of them are well renowned as leaders of the ‘Mingei (folk craft) movement’ and it is famous that Yanagi acclaimed Hamada as the excellent potter, but Yanagi’s interpretation of Hamada’s salt glaze has not been researched enough.

In this paper, first, I confirm the outline of Hamada’s salt glaze technique, and then confirm the outline of Yanagi’s thought about the concept of ‘the Other Power’ (Tariki) from the 1950s. Based on these, first, I consider the relationship between Yanagi’s theory about the tea ceremony and Hamada’s tea bowls with salt glaze which Yanagi admired as the symbol of the tea utensils which passive "the Other Power".

Next, I consider the relationship between Yanagi's "Buddhism-aesthetics"(esthetic based on Pure Land Buddhism) and Hamada’s works with salt glaze, focusing on Yanagi’s enthusiastic interest in unglazed pottery (pottery not glazed artificially, but glazed naturally in a kiln) at the time.

From these considerations, it is clarified that Yanagi interpreted and explained Hamada’s salt glaze as reflection of Hamada’s passivity to "the Other Power", to justify Hamada’s works and to show the newest example of "Buddhism-aesthetics".

The purpose of this paper is to examine the method of "fusion of East and West" in the works of Ikuo Hirayama, focusing on his books, including "The Complete Works of Ikuo Hirayama." Firstly, it examines the originality of Hirayama's work among contemporary Japanese painters and uses it as a hypothesis to investigate the "fusion of East and West" method in his work. Secondly, it takes the relationship between his work and the religious paintings from the East and the West as a premise, and through analyzing Hirayama's works from different periods, it demonstrates the influence of French Post-Impressionist painter Paul Gauguin on Hirayama's work and points out the technique of expressing the "light" and ideas of his painting, as well as the method "fusion of East and West" in Hirayama's work, which is the method of making Japanese art and culture accessible to the general public. Specifically, taking the material collection and painting production activities that had a significant influence on Hirayama's art as an opportunity, an investigation was conducted into Hirayama's creative activities in four periods: from graduation until 1958, at Tokyo School of Fine Arts(Currently,Tokyo University of the Arts), 1959-1960, 1961-1967, and after 1968, in order to trace the development of the "East-West fusion" method. In addition, it extensively examines the "fusion of East and West" method in Hirayama's works and its influences. Finally, it summarizes the "fusion of East and West" method in Hirayama's art.

This article traces the evolution of public art in Japan and South Korea between the 1950s and 2020s. It identifies four distinct stages in this process of change: inception, formation, development, and transition. During the inception stage, public art took the form of monuments, often related to political ideology. This trend occurred in both countries, although in Japan, public art intermingled with outdoor sculpture. During the formation stage, a difference emerged between the two countries: in Japan, public art took the form of outdoor sculpture, whereas in South Korea, it took the form of architectural adornment. However, there was one commonality: in both countries, public art increasingly became a fixture of everyday life. During the development stage, public art in both countries became incorporated into urban spaces, with the artists collaborating with urban planners and developers. During the transition stage, public art in both countries shifted focus to building close ties with communities. In Japan, public art transformed into a community art movement known in Japanese English as an “art project”, while in South Korea, it transformed into new-genre public art, emphasizing culture, social welfare, and urban regeneration. Thus both countries showed unique developmental differences in public art, especially compared with public art in the United States.

Painting using materials with physical transparency is one of the trends widely seen today, and the author is also a painter who works on oil painting using transparent mediums. However, research on the expressive effects, techniques, and materials of such paintings is still insufficient. In this paper, as part of the research to examine the significance of painting with physical transparency, the author establishes the basis of the research and considers the characteristics of modern paintings using transparent materials as supports from the viewpoint of a painter.

As a research method, the author defines the meaning of words such as transparency in this paper, confirms the overview of transparent materials, and classifies previous works. Based on them, the author studies some of the works with transparent supports.

As a result, the matters that form the basis for research on physical transparency and painting expressions were confirmed, and the analysis of the works based on these findings revealed the various expressive effects of the works and the expressive intentions of each artist.

In conclusion, the characteristics of the works with transparent materials as supports examined in this study are considered to be visual expressions related to motion, floating, and multilayeredness. The author aims to clarify the significance of painting with physical transparency through further analysis of artworks and practical research.