Handmade Seal Contest 2021 – Winners Announcement
Handmade Seal Contest 2021 – Announcement of Nominations
On September 10, 2021, Shoyu Online invited submissions for the "Handmade Seal Contest 2021" with the theme of "Favorite Words."
This was our first attempt at a contest outside of traditional calligraphy, and we were delighted to receive far more entries than expected.
We hope that by challenging yourselves in areas you don’t usually explore, the joy of calligraphy will continue to expand for everyone.
Here, we are pleased to announce the nominated seal works selected from this contest.
Grand Prize [1 Winner]
Excellence Award [3 Winners]
Unique Award [6 Winners]
Grand Prize
houanyouwin
The Grand Prize winner of the Shoyu Online Handmade Seal Contest 2021 is houanyouwin.
【Title of Work】
Thousand-Armed Kannon
【Reason for Award】
The overall composition of the work is outstanding!
The entire piece radiates power, drawing the viewer instantly into its world with a lingering sense of awe. On a small seal surface, the artist skillfully arranged the Thousand-Armed Kannon alongside the seed syllable in Sanskrit, creating a remarkable composition.
Finely executed Hakubun (negative carving)
The seal was meticulously carved in the Hakubun style, producing an attractive play of light and shadow that enhances its solemn atmosphere.
A bold finish to the Sanskrit seed syllable
The Sanskrit seed syllable placed in the blank space features sharp, linear strokes that also serve to tighten and balance the entire composition.
Excellence Awards
The Excellence Awards were given to:
- clarkikenta33
- _in.stagram_2
- kakiyaquzan
for their works.
Excellence Award: clarkikenta33
【Title of Work】
熱愛和平 ~ LOVE AND PEACE ~
【Reason for Award】
A rustic yet deeply tasteful expression
“The outer frame evokes the atmosphere of ancient clay seals.” The entire work exudes simplicity and softness, with its rounded outer frame reminiscent of traditional clay seals, perfectly matching the phrase “LOVE AND PEACE” to create a calming piece. With high technical skill, it captures the distinctive ancient feel of clay seal impressions, while incorporating the English words “LOVE AND PEACE” in a fresh and unique way.
Excellence Award: _in.stagram_2
【Title of Work】
乾坤一擲 (A Throw of the Dice to Determine Fate)
【Reason for Award】
Carving style reminiscent of Wu Changshuo
This piece presents the famous four-character idiom “乾坤一擲” in a straightforward, classic style. Carved in Shubun (positive carving), the work is extremely powerful, matching the meaning of the phrase while achieving beautiful balance in composition, spacing, and layout. The deliberate contrast of density and openness within the composition also proved highly effective.
Excellence Award: kakiyaquzan
【Title of Work】
工山 (Kuzan)
【Reason for Award】
Simplicity concealing refined depth
An excellent work that effectively structures the characters within simplicity. By daring to orient the rectangular seal surface horizontally rather than the usual vertical alignment, the piece creates an illusion as if English letters or images were engraved. The use of blank space and fine line quality is especially striking, and by dividing thin white spaces while maintaining solid strokes, the piece achieves a bright and modern finish overall.
Unique Awards
The Unique Awards were given to:
- yukiai_no_sora
- suibokuga_arai
- ukimaru3
- rakuinkyoan
- yuitsu.tenkoku
- yasuko.tahara.3
for their works.
Unique Award: yukiai_no_sora
【Title of Work】
“Kotobuki” — Sending Wishes on a Skyrocket of Fireworks
【Reason for Award】
A dazzling piece that lifts the spirit
The single character is exquisitely composed to harmonize with the intricate floral motif. The tiny dots scattered around the flowers make the whole piece feel brighter and are very appealing. It conveys how much fun the creator had while making it.
Unique Award: suibokuga_arai
【Title of Work】
Myself Reading While Walking
【Reason for Award】
A work that radiates quiet refinement
The carving of the human-shaped silhouette is superb and gives a sense of modest elegance. The composition of characters carved in hakubun (negative carving) within the silhouette matches the whole piece, making it an excellent work.
Unique Award: ukimaru3
【Title of Work】
Butterfly’s Dream
【Reason for Award】
A butterfly that looks ready to take flight
The placement of the characters on either side of the butterfly—poised as if about to take off—keeps the overall composition from feeling cramped. It gives the impression of a piece crafted with great care and attention.
Unique Award: rakuinkyoan
【Title of Work】
Untitled
【Reason for Award】
A piece that conveys the importance of smiles
It’s expressed in a way that makes everyone smile just by looking at it, and it feels like the artist truly enjoyed the carving process. The use of both shubun (positive carving) and hakubun (negative carving) is very skillful, and the word “wahaha” leaves an instantly uplifting impact.
Unique Award: yuitsu.tenkoku
【Title of Work】
Only One
【Reason for Award】
Masterful use of negative space
Including the framed presentation, the stylish finish exudes a subtle sense of ease—truly impressive. The overall composition, balance, and spacing are mesmerizing. In the “yui” character, the “furudori” strokes suggest the piece was carved upon a solid foundation of seal script structure.
Unique Award: yasuko.tahara.3
【Title of Work】
Sun
【Reason for Award】
A design-forward piece with great appeal
The work combines a tasteful style with a keen sense of design. Beyond the placement of characters, the balance of circles and triangles is in harmony across the entire piece.
A handmade stamp contest full of expressive, delightful works.
We have introduced the 10 prize-winning entries from the stamp contest.
We held this stamp contest as a new initiative beyond calligraphy.
We are truly grateful for the higher-than-expected number of submissions.
We hope to continue contributing, even in a small way, to the development of calligraphy through projects like this.
At Shoyu Online, we share content under the theme “Enjoying Calligraphy” so everyone can have more fun through calligraphy.
We hope you will feel free to join us in our next participatory project.