The Mainichi Shodo (calligraphy) Exhibition is the largest exhibition of its kind in Japan, covering all seven calligraphic categories. It is organized by the Mainichi Newspapers Co. 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.There were only 686 entries that year. Now, after 70 years, the exhibition attracts about 30,000 entries. 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. It is estimated that about 100,000 people see the show every year.

The Mainichi Newspapers Co. which organizes the Mainichi Shodo (calligraphy) Exhibition is Japan’s oldest newspaper company, having published the first daily newspaper in Japan in 1872.
It now has a circulation of 2 million and 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.

The Mainichi Shodo (Calligraphy) Exhibition held its first overseas exhibition in Paris in 1970.
Since then, exhibitions have been held in major cities around the world, introducing calligraphy as an art form and generating a great response.

1970

FRANCE Paris & Marseilles

1971

U.S.A. New York & Philadelphia

1972

BRAZIL Rio de Janeiro／ITALY Milan／SPAIN Barcelona & Madrid／Sevilla & Valencia

1975

BRAZIL Sao Paulo & Belo Horizonte

1976

USA Seattle

1978

FRANCE Paris

1982

SINGAPORE Singapore

1988

CHINA Beijing & Shanghai／GERMANY Munich & Offenbach／AUSTRIA Vienna

1989

RUSSIA Moscow／BELGIUM Ghent

1990

GERMANY Frankfurt／DENMARK Copenhagen／CHINA Beijing／SINGAPORE Singapore

1991

RUSSIA Saint-Petersburg(Leningrad)／GERMANY Munich & Berlin／IRELAND Dublin／U.K. 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