Mainichi Daily News
HIROSHIMA — Hundreds of calligraphic works sending out a message of peace were unveiled Sunday as the 24th Hiroshima peace calligraphy exhibition got underway.
Ken Fujiwara, general managing editor of the Mainichi Newspapers’ Osaka Head Office, second from right, and others cut the tape at the opening ceremony of the Hiroshima peace calligraphy exhibition in Hiroshima’s Naka-ku.
The exhibition, which opened in the atomic bomb museum in Hiroshima’s Naka-ku, presented 349 works that received honorable mention and 628 specially chosen works, selected from over 5,000 entries sent in from around Japan.
Third-year junior high school student Yudai Matsumoto, 15, a resident of Hiroshima’s Asakita-ku, and 74-year-old Hiroshima resident Kinson Inoshita were jointly awarded the top Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology prize. In a presentation ceremony on Sunday, the exhibition’s planning committee chairman Ken Fujiwara, general managing editor of the Mainichi Newspapers’ Osaka Head Office, presented certificates and trophies to Matsumoto, Inoshita and other top-placed entrants.
Hiroshima was the first city in history to sustain an atomic bomb attack. People exposed to radiation in the bombing, referred to as hibakusha, are still suffering from the aftereffects. They have continued to call for world peace, saying no one else must be allowed to suffer the same misery as them.
From long ago the traditional cultural art of calligraphy has thrived in Hiroshima, and the Hiroshima peace calligraphy exhibition has been held in the city every year with hopes of having a large number of people share a desire for peace through calligraphy.
Besides themes such as the “Peace City” of Hiroshima, entrants are allowed to chose whatever subject they like, as long as the works appeal for peace. Every year there is a wide range of entrants, from kindergarten children to those in their 90s, but young people, such as elementary, junior high school and high school students, account for the majority of entries.
The event’s organizing committee is formed by the Mainichi Newspapers Co., the Hiroshima Culture Peace Foundation, which operates the atomic bomb museum, and other organizations. Entries from all over Japan are accepted.
The exhibition will run at the atomic bomb museum until Tuesday. (Mainichi)
Clink link for gallery of works displayed: http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/photospecials/graph/061030shodo/1.html
For the story in Japanese: http://www.mainichi-msn.co.jp/shakai/wadai/news/20061030k0000m040063000c.html