Creativity in Music Education from 1890s to 1930s in Japan

Abstract

In this chapter, the author presents the concept of creativity in the context of history of music education in modern Japan. The period of the investigation is from the 1890s to the 1930s. It was the period after the establishment of the modern public educational system: The mid-Meiji, Taisho, and the start of the Showa. The selection of the period in this chapter is based on two reasons. First, in Japan, the “school system” was promulgated in 1872. The year marked the beginning of compulsory education. A Japanese theory of education imitated the education of foreign countries in the 1890s. Second, there was no mention of educational philosophy or special teaching methods until the 1930s apart from the content of education in legal terms. Education and music education theories were authored in the public and private sectors. The author of this chapter considers interpretations of creativity that were used during this period in Japan. The author also identifies the concepts encapsulated by the term creativity that have lasted until today.