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A little girl is writing during a calligraphy1 contest in Tokyo January 5, 2007.
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New Year's resolutions are notoriously hard to keep but thousands of Japanese gathered in central Tokyo on Friday to capture their hopes in flowing ink strokes.
The first time any activity is performed in the new year is believed to be especially auspicious2 in Japan, and the year's first calligraphy -- "kakizome" -- is thought to be most appropriate for New Year's resolutions.
Calligraphy is a widely practiced and revered3 art in Japan, where the act of writing out Chinese characters is believed to sharpen the mind and improve concentration.
With swift strokes of a thick horse-hair brush, the calligraphers covered long sheets of paper with the characters and phrases that best described their resolution, often with considerable poetic4 licence.
"I want to study harder and become more intelligent this year," said eight-year-old Tomoyuki Hirayama, whose vows5 were represented by the phrase "Clear blue skies."
Others used the words "to be courageous6." "I wished for peace," said 12-year-old Yuki Naito, whose paper read "peaceful country."
Not all 3,500 participants were able to achieve the sought-after state of concentration believed best for calligraphy as they competed for the best brushwork.
"My hand was shaking, I was so nervous," said Kyoko Ishibashi, a 68-year-old school teacher.
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众所周知，新年的承诺总是很难兑现，而数千名日本人则于上周五齐聚东京市中心，将他们的新年愿望用毛笔写了下来。
在日本，新年里所做的第一件事往往被认为特别吉祥。所以新年的第一幅书法作品则被认为是许下新年愿望的最好方式。
书法这门艺术在日本大行其道，备受尊敬，练汉字书法被公认为是一种能够促进思维和提高注意力的好方法。
书法作者们用粗马鬃毛笔在长幅纸上写下自己的新年愿望，他们所用的词句通常都很押韵。
八岁的平山智之说：“我希望自己在新的一年里更用功、更聪明。”他用“晴空万里”这个成语表达了自己的新年愿望。
还有人用了“勇敢”这个词。12岁的由希内藤说："我渴望和平"。他写下的新年愿望是"和平家园"。
参加此次活动的3500名书法作者互相比拼，看谁的水平最高，但是并不是所有人都能达到写书法所要求的专心境界。
68岁的京泽佑子老师说：“我很紧张，我的手一直在抖。”
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