“Fushizukuri Education” is the most successful music education method in Japan, started in 1966 at Furukawa Elementary School in Hida area, Gifu Prefecture. This method was developed by a group of teachers who were not specialized in music. The characteristics of this method are as follows: (1) the curriculum consists of 30 phases, 102 steps; (2) adopting dual approach comprised of performance and music basics; (3) the learners themselves progress the class with minimum intervention by the teacher; (4) special emphasize is placed on hearing; (5) sufficient opportunities for solo singings and remarks are guaranteed for all learners, (6) the teacher’s remarks are minimized, and (7) the learners eventually demonstrate excellent musical and performance ability. This study aims to find how to install “Fushizukuri Education” effectively into current school music curricula in Japan. Both practical and experimental approaches are employed. Children participated in this study were the third graders at Hesaka Elementary School. The four classes were randomly divided into two groups comprised of two classes each. Children in one group learned using conventional staff notation system, whereas children in the other group learned using the “maru-fu” (circle notes) notation system. Rhythm learning activities were organized for both groups based on the “Fushizukuri Education” method. A pretest and a posttest were carried out in July and late September 2017, respectively. Both tests measured each child’s abilities of rhythm reproduction and rhythm reading. In the rhythm reading pretest, both groups were tested with one-line staff materials. In the rhythm reading posttest, the “maru-fu” group was tested with “maru-fu” materials, whereas the staff group was tested with one-line staff materials. Following results were obtained. (1) Both groups have developed abilities of rhythm reproduction and rhythm reading through rhythm learning activities, although the number of activities was not so many. (2) In the pretest, the staff group outperformed the “maru-fu” group on both reproduction task and reading task. (3) It is presumed that the learners have been familiarized with five-line or one-line staff notation system up to the third grade, whereas they might feel novelty in the “maru-fu” notation system. (4) Therefore, the “maru-fu” notation system should be used in the first grade.