Staff Updates

JASC Nengajo Contest

JASC is holding its 1st ever Nengajo Contest! In keeping with Japanese tradition, JASC sends a New Years Card out to all our members, supporters and friends on January 1st. This year, we'd like to get some help from our community. A winning design will be chosen and that nengajo will be sent out to our JASC community on behalf of JASC with credit awarded to the artist for the design. The artist will receive a one year JASC Family Level Membership ($75 value) and a $30 gift card to Pacific Mercantile at Sakura Square!

  • Deadline: December 19, 2021

  • Must:

    • be original artwork

    • include some form of the standard Japanese New Year greeting: 明けましておめでとうございます。

    • include the zodiac animal of 2022 (the year of the tiger!)

    • be submitted in its original format and PDF, JPG or PNG

  • Submissions (and questions) should be sent to: info@jascolorado.org

We can't wait to see what you've got! Happy designing!


Just as holiday greetings or cards are exchanged in the West, nengajo, or New Years postcards are exchanged in Japan. Nowadays, although many nengajo are digitially sent, the Japan Post still delivers about 4 billion each New Years Day. In keeping with the Japanese cultural value of timeliness, nengajo are delivered ON New Years Day- not a second before or after. Click here to read more about the history of this cultural tradition.