The Japan Marine Sports Promotion Foundation held the final judging and announced the winners of the 10th Annual Yamaha Children's Seascape Painting Contest on Monday, November 9, at the Toranomon Pastoral in Minato Ward, Tokyo.
This year marked the tenth year of the contest, which began in 1989. The number of entries has grown dramatically over the past ten years from 1,558 submitted works in the first year of the contest, to 9,125 this year. In total, the last ten year's entries number 47,313! With the listing on the Yamaha Motor Internet home page beginning last year, entries have also come from overseas. Two entries were received from Mexico this year.
All the works by the children displayed powerful representations of the ocean and bays from their point of view, making all the adults involved in the contest reconsider the importance of the ocean and our interaction with it.
A panel of seven judges chaired by Mr. Kazuo Kudo, chairman of the artist group Sogenkai and a member of Nitten, evaluated the works.
All submissions underwent a preliminary screening during a two-day period on October 29 and 30. Three hundred works each from the upper elementary, lower elementary, and nursery school categories were selected for a total of 900 works. The first stage of the final judging brought the number down to 100, and in the second stage two Gold Prizes, four Silver Prizes, six Bronze Prizes, and ten Honorable Mentions were awarded.
In addition, three individuals who represent supportive and cooperative associations of the contest and who also served on the judging panel awarded special prizes. Mr. Hideki Hata of the Fisharina Association chose an entrant from the upper elementary category for the Japan Fisharina Chairman's Prize.
Mr. Yoshiro Hattori of the Kaiyo Recreation Association selected a work from the lower elementary category for the Kaiyo Recreation Association Chairman's Prize. The Yamaha Motor Company Prize went to a contestant from the nursery school category and was chosen by Mr. Takashi Kajikawa of Yamaha Motor.
The award-winning works will be displayed at the 1999 Tokyo and Osaka International Boat Shows and at various Yamaha exhibition sites throughout the country to help illustrate the important purpose of the contest. |
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Comments from the Judges |
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From Mr. Kazuo Kudo, the artist who has presided over the judging panel since the first contest and has seen many submissions:
"With some 1,500 submissions in the first year of the contest and almost 10,000 this time, each passing year has brought us better and better works. Inparticular, the Gold Prize winners in the upper elementary category meet all the criteria of an excellent work in terms of composition and use of color.
I also felt there was a characteristic individuality from the different regions the works came from. In these turbulent modern times with children involved in incidents adults can scarcely understand, I believe the cultivation of aesthetic sensitivity through drawing is exceedingly important."
From Mr. Hideki Hata, acting director of the Fisharina Association, one of the organizations providing support to this year's contest:
"The Fisharina Association Chairman's Prize was awarded to a painting that combined a pleasure boat and a commercial fishing boat since the aim of the organization is to promote the coexistence of commercial fishing and marine sports. As with the other prizes, judging was based on skill and excellence, but in addition, there was something about the intent of this picture that spoke to me."
From Mr. Yoshiro Hattori, honorary member of the Kaiyo Recreation Association, one of the organizations providing support to this year's contest:
"Judging each of the categories-nursery school, lower elementary, and upper elementary-I was struck by how quickly children grow in the space of just a few short years. Because I'm a professional sports fisherman, I chose a work from the standpoint of a fisherman for the Kaiyo Recreation Association Chairman's Prize since it depicted the lifelong dream of all of us who fish; landing a fish some ten times our own size."
From Mr. Atsushi Yoshioka, guest judge and managing director of the National Federation of UNESCO Associations in Japan, one of the organizations providing support to this year's contest:
"As this is the International Year of the Ocean, we have to consider the importance of the ocean and how to best make use of its wealth. These powerful pictures that show a deep feeling for the ocean made me realize that we should never give up on the children in Japan. I hope painting pictures such as these will increase the number of children who love the ocean and instill in them the spirit of protecting it."
From Ms. Miho Minami, guest judge and winner of the Gold Prize in the upper elementary category in the 1st ever Yamaha Children's Seascape Painting Contest:
"Having heretofore only been on the judged side, I really got a feeling of how difficult it is to judge. It really brought back the memories of how ten years before I had enjoyed painting the picture. Having the chance to look at all the happy pictures done by the children, I felt the long trip from Tokushima to Tokyo was really worthwhile. With sixth graders in elementary school able to take part in the contest, I'd like to urge those in the fifth grade and below to do their best and send in their work."
From Mr. Hideto Eguchi, Chairman of the Japan Marine Sports Promotion Foundation, sponsor of the contest:
"Thinking about the times we live in we can conclude that a country that does not educate its youth to be full of life does not have a future. While that may be something of an overstatement, when thinking about Japan's future, I believe it is of the utmost importance for us and the country to instill in children from the very beginning the importance of spirit and culture as something that is their own, and to spare no effort in its pursuit. Submissions exceeded 9,000 this year, without a doubt they will go over 10,000 next year. And as the scope of the contest widens with internationalization, I look forward to contributing to the education of our youth." |
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