Hundreds of students participated in a New Year calligraphy contest at Tokyo's Budokan on Jan. 5. Children were split up by age group and asked to perfectly draw a word or phrase in traditional Japanese style.

Students participate in a New Year calligraphy contest in Tokyo, Japan, January 5, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Anyone in elementary school or older can participant in the contest. | REUTERS

Participants have to write in either traditional kanji characters or in hiragana depending on their age group. | REUTERS

First-grade children had to write てまり(temari, traditional Japanese handball game​). | REUTERS

Second-grade students had to write かどまつ (kadomatsu, traditional bamboo New Year's decoration). | REUTERS

Officials said around 3,000 people participated in the contest. | REUTERS