Teaching children!

Classes using the "Thirty-six Views of FUJISAN" prints

Building the home of FUJISAN. Kids Study Program

The program is intended so that elementary school students across Japan learn the importance of FUJISAN.
We developed and carried out a class program using the "Thirty-six Views of FUJISAN" ukiyo-e prints by Katsushika Hokusai as teaching materials.

Children must learn about the wonders of FUJISAN. This is how we can increase the number of people who will help with preserving FUJISAN in the future.

The grand shape of FUJISAN produces a sublime beauty that is overwhelming. FUJISAN is beautiful in every season and from every angle. It rises from the shores of Suruga Bay, a single peak that towers boldly over the surrounding mountains. There is no other mountain like it in the world. This is what has made FUJISAN such a special mountain - a kind of spiritual birthplace - to the Japanese people since ancient times. To the people of Japan, FUJISAN is a place of ceaseless longing, and been a place of worship for people of every generation. FUJISAN became the source for a highly varied art culture, and is a widely recognized symbol of the culture of Japan.
The commanding beauty of the mountain is inevitably a moving sight to people of all ages and national origins. Each of us has a story of the relationship between ourselves and FUJISAN that we have nurtured in our hearts. We hope that through this FUJISAN Kids Study Program, they will experience the splendor of FUJISAN and learn its cultural value during their schools' social studies and integrated study periods.
We expect that this will help increase the number of people who will cooperate to preserve FUJISAN in the future, so that this grand and beautiful mountain can be protected for future generations.
We would like to express our deep thanks to the governments of Shizuoka and Yamanashi Prefectures, the Boards of Education, school representatives, NHK Educational, Kazumasa Arita, and all the others who helped plan and implement this Kids Study Program, and ask for everyone's continued guidance in the future.

Teaching materials

Contents of the teaching materials set (produced by: NHK Educational)
Booklet (1) Video DVD (2)
"Thirty-six Views of FUJISAN" ukiyo-e prints (for posting in the classroom) (1 each of 5 types)
Ukiyo-e (for group learning) (10 each of 4 types)

Editorial supervision by the late Kazumasa Arita, a leading expert in social studies education

Kazumasa Arita was described as a teacher's teacher, with broad support among teaching professionals as an expert in elementary school social studies education. He was also the supervising editor of the Shogaku Shakai social studies textbooks published by Kyoiku-Shuppan. His major books alone on the subjects of teaching methodology and teaching materials number more than 140, and are full of valuable ideas. The quality and quantity of his books are enough to warrant a special "Kazumasa Arita corner" in bookstores. He also appeared in "Wakuwaku Jugyo: My Way of Teaching", a television program for teachers that was broadcast by NHK in 2005. Due to its popularity, a special program was also broadcast. In the classroom, he placed great value on the questions asked by the children themselves, and was widely known for creating classes that focused on this feeling of wanting to learn and explore. He was dedicated to the necessary preparation and creation of teaching materials for this purpose.

Video clips: Culture of the Edo townspeople

The Flourishing Town of Edo

The Flourishing Town of Edo

Ukiyo-e and FUJISAN

Ukiyo-e and FUJISAN

Video clips: Travel during the Edo Period

Reasons for the Travel Boom

Reasons for the Travel Boom

FUJISAN and the Hardships of Travel

FUJISAN and the Hardships of Travel

Program record

2011 academic year Feb. 20: First model class, Fujiyoshida City Asumi Elementary School, Yamanashi Prefecture
March 2: First model class, Fujinomiya City Kibune Elementary School in Shizuoka Prefecture
2012 academic year Sept. 21 Second model class, Chuo Ward Taimei Elementary School, Tokyo
(A special class supervised by Kazumasa Arita)
Oct. 2 Second model class: "Learning about Edo Period Town Culture from Ukiyo-e Prints", Gotemba City Kamiyama Elementary School, Shizuoka Prefecture
Oct. 5 Second model class: "Learning about Edo Period Town Culture from Ukiyo-e Prints", Fuji City Yoshiwara Elementary School, Shizuoka Prefecture
Oct. 23 Second model class: "Learning about Edo Period Town Culture from Ukiyo-e Prints", Kofu City Higashi Elementary School, Yamanashi Prefecture
Oct. 25 Second model class: "Learning about Edo Period Town Culture from Ukiyo-e Prints", Fujinomiya City Funatsu Elementary School, Yamanashi Prefecture
2013 academic year March - April Distributed 570 sets of teaching materials to all elementary schools in Shizuoka Prefecture.
Distributed 220 sets of teaching materials to all elementary schools in Yamanashi Prefecture.
May Distributed 20 sets of teaching materials to elementary schools in Chuo Ward, Tokyo.
Aug. Conducted the FUJISAN Kids Study Program in Tokyo's Chuo Ward to commemorate the registration of FUJISAN as a World Heritage Site.
Dec. Conducted a survey of the conditions of use for "Learning about Vibrant Edo Town Culture from 'Thirty-six Views of FUJISAN'" social studies teaching materials from the FUJISAN Kids Study Program in Shizuoka Prefecture, Yamanashi Prefecture, and Chuo Ward.
Provided 40 sets of teaching materials to requesting educators across Japan.

supported by