Creativity in the arts is defined as a process in which learners engage in appreciating, exploring, creating and expressing themselves through the arts and the desired learning outcome: having a creative and inquiring mind (Tan and Ng in J Curric Pedag 18:253–272, 2021). This chapter examines how arts and creativity are nurtured in early childhood education in three Asian societies as case studies (i.e., Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore). In the first part of the chapter, we compare the curriculum documents describing how creativity in the arts is prioritized in early childhood education by analyzing the definition of creativity in the arts and components included in the curriculum, (e.g., time allocation, teaching strategies). In the second part of the chapter, we analyze a total of 28 research studies related to arts and creativity in early childhood education among these three societies with reference to the 5-As framework of Glăveanu (Rev General Psychol 17(1):69–81, 2013), which covers children as actors, their creative action, the artifact produced, the audience and affordance in school settings, and other relevant school factors. Teachers are an important audience because they assist, contribute and judge children’s creativity. Artifacts and actions cover mainly digital and visual arts, robotics and science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM). We encourage further experimental studies that clearly document the positive impacts of arts on creativity to provide evidence for educational practice. A pedagogy of arts to facilitate creativity that is culturally relevant, developmentally appropriate and inclusive in practice is thus recommended for teachers. Asian researchers and educators should maintain their current evolutionary, incremental, and communicational approaches in the understanding and cultivation of creativity in the arts in early childhood education curriculums.