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I was commissioned by the Hachioji Tourism and Convention Association to perform calligraphy on a traditional Japanese umbrella as part of a Japanese culture workshop.

On May 12, 2026 (Tuesday), in a Japanese Culture Seminar (Writing Culture and Education) taught by Associate Professor Junya Fukui of the Department of Department of Japanese Cultures of Faculty of Liberal Arts Teikyo University, students considered the use of written expressions in tourism and cultural exchange settings as a case study, based on a request from the Hachioji Tourism Convention Association to the calligraphy club to write on traditional Japanese umbrellas. The students then actually wrote on the umbrellas. This initiative was implemented with the aim of welcoming visitors from both Japan and abroad to Hachioji with welcoming words written on traditional Japanese umbrellas, conveying the characteristics of the region at a glance, and leaving a lasting impression of their visit.
Students from the calligraphy club and those taking the Japanese Culture Seminar (Written Culture and Education) participated in the class, where they carefully considered how to express the phrases they would be writing. Two phrases were chosen as the subject matter. One was "Welcome to Hachioji," a phrase that conveys a welcome to a wide range of visitors, including foreign language speakers. The other was "Welcome to Hachioji, the City of the Sun," a locally rooted greeting derived from a line of the "Taiyo Odori Shin Hachioji Ondo," a song long cherished by the citizens. By reading and comparing these two phrases, one a direct welcome in English and the other a greeting born from a local song, the students realized that even with the same objective of "conveying a welcome," the impression conveyed to the recipient changes greatly depending on the choice of words. The discussion extended beyond the perspective of "writing beautifully" to the social background surrounding the characters, considering who the message was for, in what setting, and what it conveyed. The time spent considering each of these questions in their own words became a practical learning experience that will allow them to apply written culture to tourism and cultural exchange settings.
Following the discussion, members of the calligraphy club and Associate Professor Fukui inscribed calligraphy onto traditional Japanese umbrellas. The completed umbrellas will be used by the Hachioji Tourism and Convention Association as decorations for future MICE-related events.

Click here for information about Department of Japanese Cultures
Click here for information about the Calligraphy Club.
Click here for information about the Hachioji Tourism and Convention Association.

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