We are announcing the results of the "#SittingInMyUsualSpot" submission contest held by Okamura and note!
The "#SittingInMyUsualSpot" submission contest, which ran for about a month starting October 31, 2025, invited stories born from "the place where I used to sit." During the period (10/31-11/30), we received 6,628 entries! Thank you for submitting such wonderful works filled with your thoughts and feelings.
For a list of entries on note, please see here.
As a result of the selection process, the winners have been decided as follows.
Grand Prix (1 entry)
[Essay] To days that are the same, yet different.
The essay by Shu Fujimoto, who has worked as a ceramic painter for 20 years while sitting in the same chair, was chosen for the Grand Prix. While working, they would chat with their mother and regular customers, watch their children grow, and weave stories in their mind. It is a heartwarming piece that gently reminds us that even in days that seem the same, there are differences.
The judges highly praised it, saying, "The accumulation of long hours spent facing work while sitting in the same place was conveyed vividly," "The description of slipping into a story midway had the fun of a fantasy novel, and it was wonderful how a single chair became a 'base' connecting reality and the world of imagination," and "The daily life described in a matter-of-fact way, through the detailed depiction of overglaze painting, approached with the depth of a high-quality short film."
[Winner's Comment]
Thank you very much for informing me that I won the Grand Prix for "#SittingInMyUsualSpot." I was actually in this very seat when I read the notification. I am very happy that my days of living and working quietly in the mountains have been affirmed. It is also a great joy to have people learn about the work of ceramic overglaze painting through my essay. I want to continue to cherish my days and write about them in my own way. Thank you very much.
Semi-Grand Prix (1 entry)
Burning everything in the closet
Banri, a professional dancer, received an email from their mother that sounded like a crime notice: "I'm burning everything in the closet." When Banri, who had long put off cleaning up by saying they were "busy" or "not now," finally returned to their parents' home... what they found in the closet was a small wooden chair. It is a piece that makes you look forward to the future while reflecting on places you can no longer return to.
The judges also praised it, saying, "The writing, full of entertainment value that does not lose to the impact of the title, is excellent," "The structure, where the chair that supported the child-self becomes the key to encouraging the adult-self, taught me that the experience of 'sitting' is something deeply etched in memory," and "'Usual spots' may not be eternal. That is why I was moved by the creative perspective that makes you want to cherish the place you are sitting in now."
Okamura Award (1 entry)
A chair that makes me want to sit in it even though it hurts
A black leather high-back chair that was in their grandfather's study. Chankota wanted to sit in that chair, which could be said to be a symbol of their grandfather, and after some time, welcomed it into their own room. While imagining the world their grandfather saw every day while sitting in that chair, Chankota sits in it today to study bookkeeping. It is a piece where the chair quietly connects the lives of the two.
The judges praised it, saying, "I was moved by the story of sitting in the chair that their grandfather once sat in, and studying the same things," "The emotional exchange through an object was beautifully depicted, where even though they felt it hurt their bottom when they first sat in it, they still wanted to sit in it again," and "It is often thought that the value of an object decreases the more it is used, but I felt that the value increasing within oneself by spending time together is one of the ideal relationships between a chair and a person."
Looking back on the contest
Below is a comment from the Okamura note team.
Thank you very much for your many submissions.
The "sitting" depicted in your works varied, but all of them were very interesting and wonderful.
Okamura hopes to be a presence that not only supports posture through chairs, but also supports your activities themselves.
That is why we were moved by the many works that captured "sitting."
We hope that your "usual spots" will continue to be cherished.
...
Although the submission period has ended, we hope this will serve as an opportunity for you to think once again about the places and chairs where you sat during important moments in your life.
Please take a look at the other submitted works from the link below.