日本上千人参加新年书法大赛

日本东京当地时间1月5日举办第48届新年书法大赛，吸引了近3000人参加比赛。经历了2011年大地震和海啸的日本民众希望借此机会祈求新的一年会更好。

参赛者需要在规定的24分钟时间内把各组指定的书法内容写好，他们所写的都是对新的一年的祝愿。这些参赛者根据年龄大小分成不同的组别，然后书写难易程度不等的书法内容。这项比赛吸引了来自日本全国各地的民众参与，去年遭海啸袭击以及核泄漏影响的福岛县也派出选手参赛。除了儿童，比赛还吸引了不少长者参与，其中年龄最大的已经有85岁。这些长者都很高兴可以有机会和年轻人同场竞技。这次比赛的胜负将由一个评判小组集体决定，比赛结果将在1月22日公布，获胜选手将得到奖励。

From small children to octogenarians, thousands came together in Tokyo on Thursday for a new year's battle of the brushes in an annual national calligraphy contest.

In what has long been a ritual for the start of the year, people all across Japan write down their resolutions and hopes, or good luck characters, using a traditional horse-hair brush and ink made of charcoal.

This year's contestants brushing their welcome to the Year of the Dragon included children from Fukushima prefecture, which is still struggling with the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years, set off by last year's massive earthquake and tsunami.

"I wasn't sure if I would be able to write well, but I did better than I thought so I think it's good," said Natsumi Yazawa, a 14-year-old from Fukushima who travelled hundreds of kilometres to take part.

Contestants, who ranged from those aged four all the way up to 85, were assigned Chinese characters such as "Spring Wing" and "Year of the Dragon" and given 24 minutes to complete their masterpieces.

One of the older participants was Etsuko Saotome, who said she had looked forward to taking part as it gave her energy.

"I'll be 74, and while that's embarrassing, this gives me a chance to feel youthful again, writing with all of these children," she said.

The pieces were collected to be reviewed by judges according to rules such as their flow, line strength and angles. The winners will be announced on Jan 22.

Calligraphy is a widely practised and revered art in many parts of Asia, with the act of writing Chinese characters believed to sharpen the mind and improve concentration.