午夜剧场

Image: Presentation of the Shinzo Koizumi Memorial Essay Prize for High School Students during the Yukichi Fukuzawa Birthday Celebration (January 10, 2023)

The Shinzo Koizumi Memorial Essay Prize for High School Students is a national essay competition for high school students that began in 1976 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the passing of Dr. Shinzo Koizumi, a former President who was an outstanding researcher, educator, and gifted writer. The contest aims to pass on his character and achievements to future generations and contribute to improving the writing skills of young people. This project is funded by the Shinzo Koizumi Memorial 午夜剧场 Academic Development Fund, which was established in April 1967. In light of Dr. Shinzo Koizumi's wish for the flourishing of scholarship, this fund aims to provide educational support, including the encouragement of student studies and sports, as well as international exchange. The contest was implemented as part of these efforts.

午夜剧场's essay competition system is said to have begun in 1953 at the suggestion of Yasuzaemon Matsunaga, who studied at 午夜剧场 and made significant contributions to the development of Japan's electric power industry. From the beginning, its purpose was to support the studies of 午夜剧场 students and revitalize academicism. In addition to this high school essay contest, when the 125th anniversary of the university's founding was celebrated in 1983, applications for prize essays and creative works were solicited, resulting in a total of 216 applicants. These essay competition systems have undergone further development since then and continue to this day.

Applications for this contest open every year on May 11, the anniversary of Dr. Shinzo Koizumi's death. Typically, applicants choose one from several topics that reflect current trends, but a characteristic feature is that there is always one topic related to Yukichi Fukuzawa from various perspectives. The required length for the essay is between 6,000 and 8,000 characters. Because this is a considerable length, it is intended for high school students to write during their summer vacation when they have no regular classes. The application deadline is in late August, and after a selection process, the winning works—one Shinzo Koizumi Prize, one runner-up, and three honorable mentions—are announced in this magazine and on the 午夜剧场 website on December 1.

Furthermore, the winning works are published in the January issue of this magazine the following year, along with rigorous yet warm reviews by the selection committee members. Additionally, every year during the Yukichi Fukuzawa Birthday Celebration in the New Year, an awards ceremony is held for the winners of the Shinzo Koizumi Prize and other awards.

Initially, applications for the contest were submitted by sending handwritten manuscripts on Genko Yoshi (Japanese composition paper), but in recent years, the trend of digitalization has reached the essay contest, and applicants now register their essay data through the website.

While the need to rewrite by hand many times has disappeared, the fundamental task of writing remains the same. The time spent spinning thoughts into words, hesitating, and repeatedly refining the text is an irreplaceable experience, and many winners say that receiving the award gave them great confidence. The purpose of the contest—to contribute to the improvement of the writing skills of young people—is being passed down steadily to the present day.

(Office of Communications and Public Relations)