To bring World Heritage Mt. Fuji closer to children, an exhibition of prize-winning works from the Mt. Fuji-themed first-calligraphy contest "Mt. Fuji Kakizome 2020" (hosted by The Mainichi Newspapers and certified NPO Mt. Fuji World Heritage National Conference) is on in the free space beside the Palaceside Building first-floor east entrance =photo above.
Mt. Fuji was inscribed as a World Cultural Heritage site in June 2013. To protect this cultural heritage of Japan that the world can be proud of, more people need to take an interest in Fuji and join activities to pass it on — with that wish the Mt. Fuji World Heritage National Conference led the launch of this contest in 2018. This is the third year.
The contest invited works in four divisions: lower elementary, upper elementary, junior high and high school. There were 13,003 entries in all, and judges (chair: Kyoji Nakagawa, director of the Mainichi Calligraphy Association and chair of the Independent Calligraphers Group) selected grand prizes and others.
Assigned phrases were, respectively, "fuji" and "above the clouds"; "Mt. Fuji" and "sunrise"; "Reiwa Fuji" and "World Heritage"; "sacred peak Fuji" and "first snowcap."
On display are the grand-prize works of each division — Moe Ochiai (Yasuda Elementary, Arida, Wakayama, grade 2), Ayano Watanabe (Shinbancho Elementary, Takamatsu, grade 6), Katsuya Nakata (Matsushige Junior High, Matsushige, Tokushima, grade 3) and Shiori Ono (Ashiya High School, Hyogo, grade 3) =photo below= — plus, in each division, one Yamanashi Governor's Prize, one Shizuoka Governor's Prize, one Mainichi Newspapers Special Prize and two National Conference prizes, six works per division, 24 in all. An awards ceremony was also held on Sunday the 26th in Mainichi Hall on the first basement.
The show runs through Wednesday the 29th. Admission is free.
