When you think of a calligraphy club, you may picture students quietly practicing their writing.
One activity that overturns that image is “calligraphy performance.”
- Several people create a huge piece together to music
- Dynamic movements, such as using an oversized brush
In a typical year, calligraphy performance competitions were held annually, but they had been canceled since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Although competitions gradually resumed in fiscal 2021 (2021), with preliminaries judged by video and other changes, performances with an audience were not possible. But on January 10, 2022, there was a live performance for the first time in a while!
“Okayama Prefectural Kurashiki Commercial High School Calligraphy Club” from Kurashiki also took part.
This article reports on “New Year! High School Calligraphy Performance,” held at AEON MALL Kurashiki on January 10, 2022.
The information presented was accurate when this article was published in January 2022. Please note that it may differ from current information.
About “New Year! High School Calligraphy Performance”
“New Year! High School Calligraphy Performance” was held on January 10, 2022, at the Central Court of AEON MALL Kurashiki.
The event was run by the National High School Calligraphy Performance Grand Prix Secretariat, but it was not part of the main competition.
The Okayama Prefecture preliminaries for the Chugoku-Shikoku tournament of the National High School Calligraphy Performance Grand Prix, scheduled for September 18, 2021, were canceled and replaced with video judging. The event was apparently held to give students “an opportunity to perform in front of people.”
Okayama Higashi Commercial High School placed first in the Okayama Prefecture preliminaries for the Chugoku-Shikoku tournament of the National High School Calligraphy Performance Grand Prix.
It then placed fourth in the Chugoku-Shikoku tournament held on December 11, 2021, and went on to compete in the finals held at AEON MALL Makuhari New City on January 23, 2022.
To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the event was held in a way that avoided crowding, with performances scheduled one hour apart. Even so, many people, mainly parents and alumni, came to watch.
The participating schools and their performance times were as follows.
| High school | Time |
|---|---|
| Okayama Hosen High School | 12:00 p.m. |
| Kurashiki Commercial High School | 1:00 p.m. |
| Yakage High School | 2:00 p.m. |
| Okayama Higashi Commercial High School | 3:00 p.m. |
The calligraphy performances
Due to time constraints, I watched the performances by Kurashiki Commercial High School at 1:00 p.m. and Yakage High School at 2:00 p.m.
The following section is mainly a photo report.
Kurashiki Commercial High School
The piece was themed around the late Hoshino Senichi, a graduate of Kurashiki Commercial High School who managed the Chunichi, Hanshin, and Rakuten professional baseball teams and was known as a fiery leader.
Yakage High School
From the Writer
This was the second time I had watched a calligraphy performance.
I can’t judge the “quality” because I don’t know the technical aspects, but I’m drawn to the energy of the live performance and how it gives you strength.
Calligraphy performance is an activity carried out almost exclusively at high schools.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, adults have continued working and living by putting things off or changing their priorities.
But students doing things that “can only be done now” cannot do that.
In interviews after the performances, each school said, “This was our first performance outside school.” Afterward, parents and alumni gathered, and commemorative photos and other activities continued for a long time.
Should we be glad that they were able to perform in front of an audience, even just once?
In late January 2022, COVID-19 cases began rising again, and restrictions were being placed on club activities and other things. Still, I can’t help hoping that students won’t be restricted from doing the things they “can only do now.”
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