Jissen Joshi Gakuen, along with Ena City, Gifu Prefecture, which is the hometown of Utako, is a predecessor of Ena City, in order to commend the achievements of Utako Shimoda, the founder of the school, and to think about the way of life and education of modern people together. It hosts the awarding project "Utako Shimoda Award". In 2020, we are looking for essays and tanka with the theme of "Aspiration".
Jissen Joshi Gakuen and Ena City, the hometown of Utako, established the Shimoda Utako Award in 150, the 2004th anniversary of Utako's birth.
The theme for this 18th recruitment is "Kokorozashi" in both the essay section and the tanka section.An essay with specific episodes on the theme of your own "ambition", such as what you have decided for tomorrow, your strong determination and beliefs, and what you are doing now with courage. We are looking for tanka with 31 characters that come to mind.
Utako herself wrote waka poems about her ambitions when she left Iwamura, Ena City, Gifu Prefecture at the age of 16 and left for Tokyo.
"If you don't wear Ayanishiki, Mikuniyama will cross again."
(Now that I'm leaving my hometown, I'll never cross this Mikuniyama pass that leads to my hometown until I fulfill my heart's ambitions and succeed in my career. I'll definitely come back with success.)
Utako served as a lady-in-waiting in the court from the year after she moved to Tokyo, and was given the name of Utako by Her Majesty the Empress (later Empress Shoken) who was loved for her talent for waka poetry. In 1899, he founded a private practice girls'school (currently Jissen Women's University) and a girls' craft school, and devoted his life to a new era of girls' education, such as establishing sewing schools and night schools in various places with the aim of becoming independent and self-employed by women. rice field.
Only one work per person can be submitted for both essays and tanka.The application deadline is September 1, 2020.For details, see the Ena City "Utako Shimoda Award" website.
Reference: [Ena City] Recruitment of the 18th "Utako Shimoda Award"
