We are announcing the results of the "#ToYouWhoAreChallenging" submission contest held by Team Bridgestone and note!
For about a month starting October 26, 2020, we invited submissions for the #ToYouWhoAreChallenging submission contest, where people could share the challenges they are currently working on, episodes about someone else's challenge that moved them, or messages they want to convey to those who are challenging themselves.
During the period (10/26-11/25), we received 15,187 entries! Thank you for posting such wonderful works filled with cheers for those taking on challenges.
Please see here for the list of entries on note.
As a result of the selection process by Team Bridgestone Athlete Ambassadors Ai Ueda, Sena Suzuki, and Rie Ogura, note judges Daisuke Shiohata, Hamashaka, and Yuji Nakazato, and the Team Bridgestone note team, the winners have been decided as follows.
Grand Prix
[Essay] The wind of the 170km UTMB I ran through smelled of kindness for someone.
Rinko Akiya's husband decided to participate in the "Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (commonly known as UTMB)" held in Chamonix, France. The trigger for him to start running was the Great East Japan Earthquake. "So that I can help someone someday." The work that won the Grand Prix was written with the vividness and rhythmic writing style unique to a wife, watching over her husband as he continued to challenge himself toward the pinnacle race with that thought in mind.
The story of how the experience of the earthquake led to participation in one of the world's leading trail running competitions, and the fact that it was written from the perspective of someone supporting the challenge, were highly evaluated as "allowing the reader to enter the world of the work" and "fitting the core message of the contest: 'supporting those who challenge and those who support them'."
Team Bridgestone Judge's Award
■Ai Ueda (Triathlon)
Giving it your all is tiring, but rather than surviving without getting tired, I want to give it my all and burn out.
This is a post by Ory Yoshifuji looking back on when the "Avatar Robot Cafe" he operates entered the "ACC TOKYO CREATIVITY AWARDS 2020 (ACC Award)."
In the work, there are phrases like [Life is a series of collisions with 'full power'.] and [When it comes to whether you can be serious or not give up, the only enemy is yourself.] Within the episodes of preparing carefully for the main event while being strict with oneself and maintaining high motivation, I felt the splendor of working seriously through the conflicts, clashes, and teamwork that were overcome because of being serious, and the story of finding success after powerfully moving forward even when encountering trouble.
I also believe that working seriously creates "infinite possibilities," "power to move those around you," and "imagination." Reading the final words, [In life, there surely aren't that many times you can challenge something seriously.], I felt that perhaps because it is thought that there aren't many times one can challenge seriously, one can find joy in increasing the degree of seriousness for each challenge, tightening concentration, and accumulating time without compromise or regret. If daily accumulation leads to success, I wanted to cut a path to success by being serious every day, rather than just on the day of the event. (Ai Ueda)
■Sena Suzuki (Ice Hockey)
The reason I have been picking up trash for 8 years is because I want to eliminate littering in Japan, unexpected encounters, and small adventures.
Shingo-san started picking up trash after an incident in elementary school. This is a post about the reasons he continues and his dedication to it.
"I am doing these kinds of initiatives to protect the lives and time in the future." At the same time that this phrase resonated with me, I selected this post in the hope that knowing Shingo-san's challenge would be an opportunity for each person to rethink their actions.
In our daily lives, there may be times when we are overwhelmed by what is in front of us or cannot think about the future. However, when I thought about the future and the important people in my life who will live in the future, reading this post made me think that there is more that each of us can do. "The world is always connected somewhere." If we think that the future will be better if we review our actions, even if it is just a small thing, our daily lives might change. I think the "challenge" in environmental issues is a "challenge" for all of us "to protect the lives and time in the future." (Sena Suzuki)
■Rie Ogura (Para-Badminton)
The story of a housewife designer who failed at 'hokatsu' (nursery school hunting) and turned her home into a 'shared space where parents and children can work together'
"If you can't get into a nursery school, make one!" This is a post by Takami Yoshida, drawn with abundant illustrations, about how she actually created a shared space.
I really like the powerful motto, "If it doesn't exist, make it."
I was surprised by the idea of renovating part of her home into a "shared space for parenting and work" and recruiting users, but I respect the ability to take action that led to opening a shared space with a babysitter.
I imagine there were various hardships from the nursery school hunting. By introducing it in a fun and interesting way with illustrations, I think those who will be doing nursery school hunting from now on can prepare themselves without feeling down.
My children are no longer of nursery age, but I feel that creating a place where both parents and children can spend time happily is always necessary, regardless of the children's age. Now that her children have grown up, she seems to be developing "design classes for children," and I envy the people in Yoshida-san's area.
I hope that as many parents, children, and everyone who supports child-rearing as possible can spend their time energetically and with a smile. I selected this post with that thought in mind.
Thank you for your post and for the energy. (Rie Ogura)
note Judge's Award
■Daisuke Shiohata
I learned about the worries of foreigners and was ashamed of my own shallowness #ToYouWhoAreChallenging
This is a post by Mi Camino, who watched over "him," who chose a Japanese university for study abroad and found employment at a Japanese company after graduation without returning to his home country, as he continued to challenge himself amidst the conflicts in Japanese society.
I believe that excellent writing always contains a "perspective" and an "interpretation."
I felt exactly that in this piece by Mi Camino.
Foreigners working in Japan are no longer a rarity, and I think many of us have actually seen or heard about the problems they face. The author did not overlook this, but after listening carefully, they beautifully sublimated it into a message conveying the "preciousness of taking on challenges" and the "importance of a mindset that supports those who challenge themselves." I also felt it was truly wonderful how, while using a foreigner as a motif, it was crafted into a universal message that resonates with everyone who takes on challenges in difficult environments.
In the text, Mi Camino stands between the reader and the event, taking the form of a "touchpoint," which I think can broaden the "gateway" to a difficult theme. If you can stand at just the right distance from both sides, you can get more readers to internalize it as "something happening in a place continuous with their own lives."
And that method is also one of the forms that can clearly establish the "necessity of why I am writing this." In addition to good subject matter, a good perspective, and a good interpretation, I feel that works where you can see the necessity of "this piece could only have been written by this person" naturally become worth reading. By serving as a judge this time, I was able to encounter many such wonderful works.
Not only the Grand Prix work that I gave a high score to, but also pieces like "I started a street flower shop thanks to deep-fried eggplant with Japanese pepper" gave me stimulation as a writer myself. I also want to write something that makes the reader feel this way. That feeling is rising up strongly within me. Thank you very much. (Daisuke Shiohata)
■Hamashaka
I started a street flower shop thanks to deep-fried eggplant with Japanese pepper.
This is a post written by Takako Matsubara, who went to eat "deep-fried eggplant with Japanese pepper" at the invitation of a colleague at work, about the thoughts behind the decision the two of them made on the spot to "start a street flower shop."
I am very humbled to have been put in such an outrageous position as a judge...! I am not someone who has studied professionally as a writer or reporter, so I thought about what the meaning of me selecting would be... and I chose what I completely thought "I love!"
I chose this work from the perspective of, if I were to recommend just one piece to those around me after reading many candidate works, saying "I read this article the other day..."!
The comfort of the temperature in the introduction, the freshness and familiarity of the content being challenged, the density and readability of the text, the warmth after reading, the suppleness of the writing style, the balance of self-consciousness, the title, etc... I could go on forever, but the photos are just wonderful!! Who took these photos...?
Also, I think there is a tendency for articles to be less read if the title contains words that are too far from the reader, but the sense of balance in the combination of "words that you can imagine the content of but are unfamiliar with" was exquisite, and it was an article with maximum pulling power! (Hamashaka)
The story of how I drew monsters every day for 10 years and ended up holding a theme park event for the 150th anniversary of Kyoto Fujii Daimaru
This is a post by TOMASON, who drew monsters every day for 10 years and realized his wish to "someday realize the world I envisioned myself."
First of all, I thought, "This is an activity I want children to know about too."
"Ever since I was a child, I have kept thinking that I want to realize the world I envisioned myself, like Walt Disney."
It is simply wonderful that the result of continuing to do what he likes and wants to do, using his childhood thoughts as a driving force, has led to such a great achievement. It pushes the backs of those who are currently dreaming and continuing their activities.
In the world, there are people who cannot continue what they like for various reasons, such as "people who stop because it's something they like but not necessary for living," "people who continue because they like it but are too embarrassed to show it to others," "people who want to continue but are told by those around them to stop," and "people who want to try but don't start because it seems difficult."
I think TOMASON's activities are those that speak to such people, saying, "Why don't you just start?" and "If you keep going, maybe you'll see an interesting world like this?"
If TOMASON LAND ever comes to Tokyo, I would like to go experience it with the children who come to my classroom.
Through this contest and judging, I was very happy that there are many friends who "CHASE YOUR DREAM" and "keep challenging." It is easy to focus on the starting point of "challenging" or the goal of "accomplishing," but I believe that it is in the process of "continuing," which is a seemingly plain point, that the person's humanity, life, and way of living appear. Thank you for inviting me to such a project. (Yuji Nakazato)
Prize winners
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Although the submission period has ended, I hope this contest will be an opportunity to think about "challenging something" and "taking a step forward."
Please take a look at other submitted works from the URL below.
Looking back on the contest
Below are comments from the Team Bridgestone representative.
Holding our first note contest was a "challenge" for us as well.
Team Bridgestone operates with the thought of "supporting the challenges and journeys of all those who continue to challenge themselves toward their dreams while overcoming various difficulties." In the midst of those activities, we decided to hold this note contest with the desire to share with many people the importance of continuing to hold onto feelings toward dreams, taking actions that can be done now, and supporting and backing those who are challenging themselves, especially because it is this difficult time.
On the other hand, I also had a conflict about whether the seemingly grand word "challenge" would be accepted at this time. This is because, just like everyone else, I was witnessing the reality that "we cannot be saying such things."
However, now that I have experienced the difficulty (it was truly difficult...) of having to choose prizes from many wonderful works that far exceeded my imagination, I think that was a needless worry.
I would like you to take a look at the list of works, but many people were continuing various challenges, starting new ones, standing by and supporting those who were challenging, or supporting them even from afar. Also, regarding the height of the hurdle of the word "challenge" that I was worried about at the beginning, I was impressed that it was accepted carefully, with honest thoughts written down and diverse ways of depicting it according to each situation.
If there is ever a time when you hesitate to challenge something or take a step forward in the future, please come and see this list of "#ToYouWhoAreChallenging" notes. I think you will be able to encounter notes that inspire you or stand by you at that time from works with various perspectives.
Thank you very much for so many wonderful notes.
■Team Bridgestone's official note account