FEATURED EVENT

The Japan Information & Culture Center (JICC), Embassy of Japan is pleased to announce our 15th Annual Nengajo Contest!

Nengajo (年賀状) are special Japanese New Year's postcards sent to friends and relatives and delivered on New Year’s Day. Each year, the JICC invites the public to continue this tradition and craft their own original nengajo.

2026 will be the Year of the Horse (午年), so don’t horse around! Submit your entries by the December 17th deadline for a chance to be featured and win a prize! 🐎

Entries will be judged in three age divisions:

• Junior: Ages 0-11

• Youth: Ages 12-17

• Adult: Ages 18+

Award Categories:

• First Place Prizes: Junior, Youth, Adult

• Runner-ups: Junior, Youth, Adult

• Honorable Mentions: Various

First-place winners will each receive a fukubukuro, a customary Japanese “lucky bag” of assorted goodies to celebrate the New Year. All qualifying entries will be displayed at the JICC throughout January 2026.

To see your art featured on the JICC’s Instagram, tag your post with #2026JICCNengajo.

(Please note: Applicants residing outside the U.S. are not eligible for prizes but may still participate and be featured in the gallery.)

Designs must be original artwork. Any entries containing copyrighted, plagiarized, or AI-generated material will be disqualified without notice.

How to submit your submission to JICC:

• Format .jpg, .jpeg, .png, or .pdf only (.HEIC not accepted)

• Quantity: One (1) entry per person

• Email to: jicc@ws.mofa.go.jp

Include the following information in your email:

• Name

• Age

• City, State, and Country

• If under 13: Written parental or guardian consent

Submissions that do not follow these guidelines may be disqualified. To protect participant privacy, only first names and last initials will be displayed when entries are published.

When saving your file, please try to use the following naming convention (not required but greatly appreciated):

• Example: John_S_30_DC

• FirstName_LastNameInitial_Age_Location

  (Location may be a U.S. state or country.)

You will receive a confirmation email once your entry is received. If you do not receive one within 72 hours (or by the deadline), please contact us. The JICC is not responsible for late, lost, or misdirected entries.

※ Note for Teachers/Educators (先生方へのお願い)

We are deeply grateful to educators who encourage student participation! Due to the growing number of class submissions, when possible, we ask teachers to submit entries as a group to help ensure proper formatting and processing.

To coordinate a class submission, please contact us in advance at jicc@ws.mofa.go.jp. (This is not a requirement. Individual entries from students or teachers are also welcome!)