The 11th Yamaha Children's Seascape Painting Contest Announcement of the Winners

The Japan Marine Sports Promotion Foundation held the final judging and announced the winners of the 11th Annual Yamaha Children's Seascape Painting Contest on Monday, November 11, at the Toranomon Pastoral in Minato Ward, Tokyo.

This year marked the eleventh 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 8,365 this year. In total, the last ten year's entries number 55,678! With the listing on the Yamaha Motor Internet home page beginning in 1997, entries have also come from overseas. Ninety entries were received from Mexico and Indonesia 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 28 and 29. 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 one Minister of Education Prize and one Didrector General of the Environment Agency's Prize, as well as two Gold Prizes, three Silver Prizes, three Bronze Prizes, and ten Honorable Mentions were awarded in each category.

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 Japan 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. Takanori Matsuzaki of Yamaha Motor.

The award-winning works will be displayed at the 2000 Tokyo and Osaka International Boat Shows and at various Yamaha exhibition sites. Also, plans call for the works to be made available to local governments, fishery cooperatives and the like which may wish to borrow the works.

Painter. Chairman of the artist group Sogenkai and a member of the Nitten exhibition. Chairman of the judges committee for this contest since its first holding.

"I have been impressed by the way the level of the competition has gone up every year, and again this year there was a big step up in the quality of the works submitted. Adults always tend to be led by their knowledge and technique, but children paint with pure spirit and complete freedom. When I judge works, I look to see how that freedom of sensitivity has enriched the interest of the paintings. With each school that submitted works you can see some trends that are the same, so I look to see when the individuality of certain students comes through. Once again this year I felt the real meaning of expressing oneself through painting."

Chairman of the Japan Fisharina Association

"This contest renewed in me a recognition of how important it is to have an awareness of the "seashore" from a young age. As a basic standard for judging, I looked at the painting's impact first of all, and then I looked at how it shows the theme of the "seashore" through a child's eyes. There were a number of focus points that came out in the works, like the environment, fishery and the important roles of women, etc. As I was judging these paintings I found myself looking forward to how these children's views of the seashore will change in the years to come."

Honorary member of the Kaiyo Recreation Association and the Japan Game Fish Association

"I am so impressed at how good all the children's paintings are. With all these great works it was so hard to choose, but we finally chose a painting of a mother and child fishing for the Kaiyo Recreation Association Chairman's Prize. Until now, the world of fishing has largely been a man's world, but in recent years it has become popular among women too. It seems that the children are also aware of these changes in the times. This kind of painting contest is a good example of the type of education that fosters sensitivity in children. I hope we will continue to see these great contests being held every year.

Chairman of the National Federation of UNESCO Associations in Japan

"Every other year UNESCO organizes a Festival of Asian Children's Art exhibition. Through this experience I can say that music and painting transcend the barriers of language. And, the way that they help share feelings and culture without words is a wonderful thing. Once again today I experienced the importance of creating opportunities for this kind of exchange. It used to be that the vast expanse of the sea was a motif expressing distant dreams, but what impressed me in this contest was the large paintings that treated more intimate scenes of the world immediately surrounding the children."

Guest judge. Student of Nihon University. Barcelona Olympics 200 m breast stroke Gold Medalist

"I was invited to serve as a judge for the first time this year. The paintings submitted were all so rich in their expressive qualities that I don't think I had as a child. In the light of such things as environmental problems, it struck me as wonderful the way this contest encourages young children to go out and paint pictures and feel, and then see their progress from year to year. It was a real joy for me to participate as a judge."

Director, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.

"With so many paintings that answered the goal of the organizers to get children to become familiar with the sea and water from an early age, it was a very enjoyable experience being a judge. For the Yamaha Motor Company Prize we chose a picture of two girls happily swimming that was painted with great dynamism and freedom of imagination. The work that I chose was painted in a childlike manner as a direct expression of what the child was thinking, but I was also impressed at how all the works expressed the innocent hearts of the children in one way or another."

Chairman of the Japan Marine Sports Promotion Foundation

"I believe that cultural activities like music and painting keeps children from becoming self-complacent and naturally instills in them a consciousness of protecting the environment they live in. I also feel that having a venue for showing their works helps bring out the potential in children. In this year's contest there seemed to be a few less works from overseas than in the past, but I hope to see this contest develop into a truly international one in the future."

Upper Elementary (4 - 6th grade)

Lower Elementary (1st - 3rd grade)

Nursery School Group

*Sponsors and Supporting Organizations
The Japan Marine Sports Promotion Foundation
The Japan Marine Sports Promotion Foundation was founded with the approval of the Ministry of Education on July 17, 1992, for the purpose of encouraging promotional activities for marine sports in Japan. The aim of the foundation is to promote increased harmony with nature and richer human interactions by utilizing marine sports as a vehicle for its educational activities and regional sports programs.

The Japan Fisharina Association
The association was established on August 4, 1993, after receiving approval from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Aimed at promoting the dual use of fishing harbors and fishing grounds for commerce as well as marine leisure activities, it has established an all-around facility, "Fisharina," where research surveys on usage, operation, and promotional activities are conducted.

The Kaiyo Recreation Association
The association is composed of pleasure boat fishermen whose aim is to educate the public on safe boating practices and undertake activities for the preservation of natural resources.