KARACHI, Feb 13: Japanese art and literary tradition is one of the richest in the world and Karachiites are honoured every time when an opportunity is provided to them to see and admire anything linked to Japanese creativity.

The Japanese calendar exhibition, which is about to end, has become a keenly awaited event for similar reasons. There are 76 calendars on display this year highlighting a variety of subjects like art, pottery, gardens, landscapes, famous buildings, people, sports, wildlife, photography and communication. The perfection one finds in the presentation shows that a lot of work has gone into the selection of drawings, paintings and photographs. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that every calendar is a piece of art.

“I love to visit and see anything related to Japanese art and culture, whether it’s a lecture on bonsai, contest for Ikebana or a doll show. As far as this event is concerned, I feel there is more to learn and feel than what is visible to the naked eye.

There is so much depth in every image that you can’t just flip over until you fully absorb the whole impact,” says a visitor.

Not only the contents are eye-catching some of them have interesting titles as well such as Naturally Beautiful Naturally Japan, Discover West, Impression of the World, Fantasy World, Spirit of Nature, Heart of Grace: Scenes of Japanese Paintings, A Brighter Tomorrow, The Power of Dreams and The Spirit of Challenge.

Some of the impressive calendars include the one titled Living in Harmony that presented illustrations selected from among the winning works of the 14th Noma Concours like Gulliver in Lulliput, God of Thunder, Moon Hunters and My Home.

The others show some breath-taking views of Mount Fuji by Katsushika Hokusai, a painter and wood engraver, and Shiro Shirahata, who is considered the grandmaster of mountain photography.

The use of recycled paper in producing calendars is yet another proof of Japanese love for nature. For children, there are some with colourful pictures of popular cartoon series others having cute animal drawings.

The exhibition, inaugurated by artist Anwar Maqsood in the first week of this month, will end on Friday. A similar exhibition will be held in Quetta soon.