Annual calligraphy competition in Japan

According to the ancient tradition, Japanese make calligraphy to celebrate the New Year: they write letters, symbolic hieroglyphs, or good wishes. This year the annual competition of calligraphy in Tokyo was attended by 3000 people.

The contestants have only 24 minutes to create their own image of the New Year. They write with thick brushes made of horsehair and a special charcoal ink.

The works are all different: from New Year themes to wildlife. A little girl who didn’t want to catch a cold and be sick in the New Year wrote “Healthy Child”.

The finished works are submitted to the judges and, after a strict and careful selection, the winner is announced.

Annual calligraphy competition in Japan