The Adachi UKIYOE Award 2026 — Become an Eshi: Design a Contemporary Ukiyo-e Woodcut with Tokyo Artisans (up to ¥300,000)
The Adachi Foundation for the Preservation of Woodcut Printing
Ukiyo-e are made by three specialists: the eshi (designer), the carver and the printer. The Adachi Foundation for the Preservation of Woodcut Printing (Tokyo) founded the Adachi UKIYOE Award in 2009 to discover new eshi who can design ukiyo-e for the present day, in the line of Hokusai and Hiroshige. The 2026 edition is the 18th; past winners include Yu Miyazaki (2017) and Carmen Ng (2024).
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Grand Prize: JPY 300,000, production of a woodcut of the winner's design in collaboration with Adachi's carvers and printers, and a copy of the completed woodcut. Excellence Award: JPY 150,000, woodcut production and a copy. Honorable Mention: JPY 50,000. Winners take part in the production — carving, printing and colour decisions — as their design becomes a traditional woodcut.
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Anyone aged 15 or over (under-18s with a guardian's consent), applying as an individual, who can take part on an ongoing basis in meetings with the artisans and in the woodcut production process after an award (meetings may be online). No restrictions on genre, career background or nationality. Submit 3–5 previously made works created by hand or digitally on a flat surface such as paper or canvas; photographs, prints and three-dimensional works are not accepted. Use of AI in a submitted work must be clearly stated.
Dates & details
- Deadline
- (JST) — form and fee both by then
- Costs to the artist
- JPY 2,000 fee