Although arts and crafts classes are favorably received by children, they are viewed as being peripheral to core subjects. One reason for this perception is the difficulty of understanding the educational philosophy  behind  these classes. The process of historical change that has occurred in arts and crafts curricula, as well as certain features of the cultural domain of arts and crafts,create the mistaken impression that this is a technical subject. This paper places arts and crafts within the context of contemporary  school education,which plays  the societal  role of building children's character, and clarifies the philosophy  behind arts and crafts classes as well as the educational basis of art and handicraft activities in schools through a deep analysis of the term "sensitivity" as used in the objectives of the Japanese government's official Courses of Study.