Digital Ehon Award

We want more digital picture books, loved by children all over the world, to be produced. From that desire we created the Digital Picture Book Award. Last year’s examiners: Picture book authors Mr. Ishikawa Koji and Mr. Kimura Yuichi, Kadokawa Group Holdings’ Chairman of the Board of Directors Mr. Kadokawa Tsuguhiko, Psychiatrist Ms. Kayama Rika, Tokyo University Professor Emeritus and Director of Emeritus of the National Children’s Hospital Mr. Kobayashi Noboru, Digital Hollywood University President Mr. Sugiyama Tomoyuki, creater-producer Mr. Mizuguchi Tetsuya, and neuroscience scholar Mr. Mogi Kenichiro. We are currently accepting truly remarkable examiners, and we hope to pioneer and develop this new method of digital expression known as “digital picture books.”

　There are three criteria for evaluation. “Fun!”, “Fresh!”, and “Far-reaching!” The peculiarity of book awards lies in its planning department. “Even if they don’t exist yet, these kinds of digital picture books would be awesome to have!” From the very beginning we received over 200 applications. All of the examiners were excited in regards to the new media known as “digital picture books”; the evaluation was quite heated as everyone expressed their hope about the infinite ways in which it could be used to support children.

　Fast forward one year. On January 23rd, 2013, near Ichigaya Station, a “Digital Picture Book Museum” opened on Sotobori Street. It is located on the first floor of the basement of the new Dai Nippon Printing building. The museum, which focuses on digital picture books, may very well be the first of its kind.

　Red, blue, yellow. Large multicolored fruits all lined up. Enter and experience hundreds of international digital picture books within. A large, soft, white table. Climb on top and enjoy a large digital picture book projected over your whole body. On the wall is a digital picture book version of Peter Pan. One flick of the magic wand and watch as Peter Pan and Tinkerbell move. The lights burn on the evening streets of London as the hands of Big Ben spin.

　A specially-planned exhibit is displayed once every quarter. The initial exhibit is entitled “tap*rap reply”. On display are various digital analog works related to the digital picture book “tap*rap reply:”. An exhibit where children can pick up, touch, and play with everything. On both large displays and the wall, children can enter the world of literary creation using the exhibition items. A literary workshop is also held every day.

　We want to make digital picture books that are loved by children all over the world. We want to bring you digital picture books that incite excitement in all children. It feels like the circle is slowly widening little by little, perhaps even outside of Japan.

　From last year we held an international fair for digital picture books. As the name implies, along with collecting digital picture books for children all over the world, it was intended to expose Japanese digital picture books to the world. This year’s fair featured 250 works from 40 different countries.

　From here on, we wish to continue to cultivate both the places and the tools “to foster an imaginative mind and a creative spirit.”