The Mainichi Shodo Exhibition

The Mainichi Shodo (calligraphy)Exhibition is the largest exhibition of its kind in Japan, covering all seven calligraphic categories. It is sponsored by the Mainichi Newspapers and the Mainichi Shodo Association. The first exhibition was held in 1948,when conditions in Japan were still unsettled following the end of World War Ⅱ, and there were only 686 entries that year. Now, after 65 years, the exhibition attracts 30,000 entries a year and more than 3,900 association members and judges are involved.
The exhibition opens every year at the beginning of July in Tokyo with 15,000 works on display. It then travels to nine major cities: Kyoto, Hiroshima, Matsuyama, Toyama, Nagoya, Sapporo, Sendai, Yamagata and Fukuoka. More than 100,000 people are estimated to see the show every year.

The Mainichi Newspapers and The Mainichi Shodo Association

The Mainichi Newspapers, which supports the Mainichi Shodo Association, is Japan’s oldest newspaper company, having published the first daily newspaper in Japan in 1872.
It now has a circulation of 4 million and, in addition to being a leader of public opinion, continues to make significant contributions to the cultural life of the nation.
The Mainichi Shodo Association was set up in 1981 to handle the running of the calligraphy exhibition and operates with the cooperation of the Mainichi Newspapers and calligraphy-related
groups and individuals, contributing enormously to the world of calligraphy in Japan.

Exhibitions overseas

The Mainichi Shodo Association held its first overseas exhibition of calligraphy as an art form in 1970 in Paris.
Since then it has held similar exhibitions in major cities all over the world, including NewYork, Milano, SaoPaulo, Frankfurt, Moscow, Beijing, and Shanghai.

1970 　 FRANCE Paris Marseilles
1971 　 USA New York Philadelphia
1972 　 BRAZIL Rio de Janeiro／ITALY Milano／SPAIN Barcelona Madrid／Sevilia Valencia
1975 　 BRAZIL Sao Paulo Belo Horizonte
1976 　 USA Seattle
1978 　 FRANCE Paris
1982 　 SINGAPORE Singapore
1988 　 CHINA Beijing Shanghai／GERMANY Munich Offenbach／AUSTRIA Wien
1989 　 RUSSIA Moscow／BELGIUM Gent
1990 　 GERMANY Frankfurt／DENMARK Copenhagen／CHINA Beijing／SINGAPORE Singapore
1991 　 RUSSIA Sankt-Peterburg(Leningrad)／GERMANY Munich Berlin／U.K. Dublin Belfast
1993 　 U.S.A Washington D.C. Little Rock／CHINA Beijing
1997 　 MALAYSIA Kuala Lumpur
1998 　 CHINA Beijing／FRANCE Paris／SWEDEN　Stockholm
2000 　 GERMANY Berlin
2002 　 CHINA Beijing
2003 　 KOREA Seoul／VIETNAM Hanoi
2004 　 CHINA Beijing
2005 　 UKRAINE Kyiv
2006 　 SINGAPORE Singapore／CHINA　Lianyungang
2007 　 CHINA Beijing
2008 　 CHINA Beijing／CHINESE TAIPEI Taipei／BRAZIL　Sao Paulo
2012 　 FRANCE Paris／MALAYSIA Kuala Lumpur
2013 　 FRANCE Paris
2014 　 THAI Bangkok
2015 　 FRANCE Paris
2016 　 CHINA Tianjin
2018 　 SINGAPORE Singapore
2019 　 FRANCE Nice