Arakawa(MC) ───── Good morning ladies and gentlemen. We would like to begin the Round Table Discussion for the Ishikawa International Urushi Exhibition 2017. I am Mr Takao Arakawa, the Deputy Chairperson of the Executive Committee of this exhibition and Managing Director of the Design Center Ishikawa. I hope this symposium serves as an opportunity to frankly exchange your opinions and comments on the exhibition.
I would like to thank the jury members for traveling all the way to Ishikawa despite their tight schedule and performing the difficult task of selecting the prize winners from a very competitive field.
We are happy to welcome such world renowned panelists. I hope the audience enjoys this rare opportunity of listening to their stimulating discussions and thought-provoking opinions.
I would now like to introduce all the panelists who took part in selecting prize winners.
First, Professor Nagatoshi Ohnishi is an Urushi artist and Professor Emeritus of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.
Next, Mr Motomi Kawakami is an interior designer and Representative of Kawakami Design Room Ltd.
Mr Shinichi Yamamura is a design consultant and the President of Cobo Design Co.,Ltd.
Ms Setsuko Yamada is a design coordinator and the Representative of TWIN Inc.
Mr Kaoru Uchino is an Urushi artist and Instructor at Ishikawa Wajima Lacquer Arts Training Institute.
Professor Nobuyuki Tanaka is an Urushi artist and Professor at the Kanazawa College of Art.
And finally, Professor Shinya Yamamura is an Urushi artist and Professor at the Kanazawa College of Art.

Arakawa (MC) ───── I would like to briefly introduce the history of this exhibition and its current goals. Please refer to the ʻResults of the Final Assessmentʼ sheet that we handed out.
This is the exhibition’s eleventh event since it began in 1989 as the only Urushi competition that accepted participants from all over the world with the purpose of pursuing new dimensions of Urushi art. We have held the exhibition hoping that it would help rejuvenate Urushi-related industries, promote international exchange and enrich the lives of people with Urushi by pursuing new lifestyles with sensitivity.
For this exhibition, the application period opened in August 2016 and as a result, we received 176 entries from 11 nations and regions. The Preliminary Assessment was based on each applicant’s digital images and took place on 14 April 2017 with panel members Professor Nagatoshi Ohnishi, Mr Shinichi Yamamura, Professor Shinya Yamamura and Ms Teruko Mitarai. After thoughtful consideration and thorough discussion, 81 works from these 8 nations and regions were then selected.
Ten more works were selected this year than had been at the previous exhibition. This Autumn, the Third 21st Century Takagamine Forum in Kanazawa Ishikawa will be held, and this exhibition will be an addition to that event, so visitors can enjoy as many works as possible.
The Final Assessment was held yesterday. Among the 81 selected works, 80 works were sent to the Executive Office. Selecting prize winners was an incredibly difficult process, however, after much deliberation, the jury members finally selected all the prize winners. The Grand Prize winner and two Gold Prize winners are displayed in front of you. The rest of the prize winners are in the material for today’s special symposium.
We would now like to begin the round table discussion with Professor Nagatoshi Ohnishi as today’s moderator. He played the role of head juror at both assessments. First he will report on both assessments, after which each panelist will comment on the prize winners. At the end of the symposium, we would like to hear their thoughts and expectations on the future of Urushi by reviewing the exhibition.