The final judging of the entries to the Yokai Castle Town Project open call was held at the Asamyu Hall in the annexe of the Fukui Prefectural Ichijodani Asakura Family Historic Ruins Museum.
Our special judges were:
· Kunio Shimizu, Director, Ichijodani Asakura Family Historic Ruins Museum
· Noriko Mitake, Deputy Director-General, Cultural Exchange Department, Fukui Prefecture
· Yoko Hatanaka, Managing Director, Fukui Prefecture Tourism Federation
· Mao Wada, Director-General, Tourism, Culture and Sports Bureau, Commerce and Labour Department, Fukui City
· Toshiya Okabe, Managing Director, Fukui City Tourism Association
They were joined on the main panel by:
· Marie Sugishi, illustrator
· Haribuki Shikimi, manga artist and illustrator
· Cain Nishino, multidisciplinary artist
From more than 200 entries, the grand prize went to a work by Naoto Abe of Tagajo, Miyagi Prefecture:
“Iwanari-sama”
The longer they looked at it, the more the judges remarked on how closely it resembles the stones of the Shimokido gate at Ichijodani.
The winning entries can be seen on the page below.
Do take a look.