ABSTRACT
During the Taisho era, Japanese society enjoyed an unprecedented economic boom, exploiting the opportunity to supply goods overseas in the First World War. Due to the favourable economy, this commercial activity provided a conduit for western thought to flow into Japan and various public-led movements developed that sought respect for human rights and social transformation. This trend, called 'Taisho Democracy', prompted Japan's democratisation and transition to a modern state, a case of interaction between economic and political factors. Hakutei Ishii, an internationally celebrated painter and print-maker, whose innovations were highly influential in Japanese art, conducted his own unique art education at Bunka Gakuin. This chapter analyses the significance of Ishii's pedagogy in comparison with Yamamoto's free drawing education, which has received greater attention in the historiography of art education. Yamamoto lived as an artist and his mission as a reformer of art education was to abolish the practice of reproductive art and promote originality.
