The Adachi Foundation announces the winners of “THE ADACHI CONTEMPORARY UKIYOE AWARD 2024”.

＜ “THE ADACHI CONTEMPORARY UKIYOE AWARD 2024” ＞

Application period:

Total number of applicants:

Jurors:

See the general information at “THE ADACHI CONTEMPORARY UKIYOE AWARD 2024”

＜Selection Process＞

For this 16th edition of the competition, we continued our mission to discover artists with the potential to become “contemporary ukiyo-e artist” such as Hiroshige or Hokusai. We invited submissions based on individually created works through both a web form.

During the judging session held on January 20, 2025, the panel reviewed submissions from 176 applicants from both Japan and abroad. The selection process evaluated various factors, including each applicant’s artistic style, the achievements of their creative practice, compatibility with traditional woodcut techniques, and their potential as a contemporary ukiyo-e artist. Based on a comprehensive assessment, four winners were selected: one Grand Prize recipient, one Excellence Award recipient, and two Honorable Mentions.

The two Grand Prize and Excellence Award recipients will collaborate with modern carvers and printers to create a new ukiyo-e print.

1st Prize:　Kejie Lin
300,000 yen + the artist’s picture will be made as a woodcut print by the contemporary artisans and complete print will be given

2nd Prize:　Carmen Ng
150,000 yen + the artist’s picture will be made as a woodcut print by the contemporary artisans and complete print will be given

Honorable Mention:　Nazuna Nono, Karen Arai
50,000 yen

Balance

© Kejie Lin

Lin, originally from China and now based in Toronto, Canada, has been highly praised for her exceptional skill in employing the traditional Chinese gongbi painting technique. Her meticulous detail, masterful use of black, and outstanding sense of color, combined with a contour-drawing approach reminiscent of Edo-period ukiyo-e, made her work particularly well-suited for woodcut printmaking. These qualities were key factors in her selection for the Grand Prize. We look forward to the completion of the award-winning piece, born from the fusion of gongbi painting and traditional Japanese woodcut techniques.

Outside connection I　　,　　Outside connection II

© Carmen Ng

Ng, based in Hong Kong, has been highly praised for the transparency of watercolor in her works, the precision of her lines, the skillful use of the paper’s natural color, and the distinctive composition of viewing scenes through window frames. In particular, her lifelike depiction of high-rise buildings—rooted in a sense of everyday life—stood out to the judges as remarkable. We look forward to seeing her work take shape as a new form of ukiyo-e, reflecting her deep interest in traditional Japanese woodcut prints and its techniques.

Boathouse 1

© Nazuna Nono

Nono, who also received an honorable mention in the 14th edition of this award, has been recognized for her work, which clearly reflects the time and effort she dedicated to preparation. The piece, based on meticulous research, was highly praised. In particular, the landscapes depicted alongside water were regarded as exceptionally well-executed. Her sincere approach to the fundamentals of painting—carefully translating what she sees into lines and colors—is truly admirable. We look forward to seeing her continue this artistic pursuit in the future.

Clear Autumn Afternoon

© Karen Arai

Arai, currently studying painting at an art university, captivated the judges with subject matter that reflects her deep interest in fashion history, as well as the distinctively dry texture of her matière, achieved through oil painting techniques. We look forward to seeing the refinement already present in her work evolve even further in the future.

This year marks the 16th edition of the competition, and as in the previous year, we accepted submissions both by postal mail and online. As a result, we received a total of 176 entries, including 73 from Japan and 103 from overseas, representing 36 countries worldwide.

The submitted works were evaluated by the jury based on the artists’ individuality and abilities, their potential as an ukiyo-e artist, and whether their work demonstrated the unique appeal and possibilities that could emerge when transformed into a woodcut print. As a result, the Grand Prize and Excellence Award winners were both selected from international applicants.

For promotion, we utilized our foundation’s website and social media, as well as public art competition magazines and both domestic and international open call websites. This year saw a further increase in international submissions, a greater diversity in applicant nationalities, and a broader variety of works. Additionally, we were pleased to see a substantial number of high-quality submissions from both Japan and abroad, reflecting the dedicated effort put into preparing for this competition.

One particularly memorable comment came from an international applicant who said, “I have never seen a competition where I could submit a preparatory drawing (hanshita-e), and I was thrilled.” This highlights how this competition differs from conventional art competitions, emphasizing the crucial role of artists capable of drawing high-quality lines in traditional woodcut printing. We are delighted to see more applicants who understand this concept and apply accordingly. Moving forward, we plan to continue accepting online submissions to create opportunities to discover future ukiyo-e artists. We also hope that next year’s applicants will recognize the importance of line quality in an artist’s drawing and reflect it in their submissions.

The two winners of the Grand Prize and Excellence Award will now collaborate with artisans who uphold the tradition of Japanese woodcut printing to create a commemorative print. The previous Grand Prize winner, Jaime Scholnick, successfully completed a remarkable woodcut print through a collaboration between the artist and skilled artisans. We will make every effort to ensure that this year’s winners also find this experience to be an opportunity for new artistic discoveries. We hope that their completed works will be widely seen and serve as a means to share and promote the extraordinary craftsmanship that Japan takes pride in.