Tokyo 2020 pictogram depicts “beautiful moments” of archery says designer

Tokyo 2020 released the pictograms that will be used at next summer’s Olympic Games to coincide with 500-days-to-go celebrations on 12 March 2019.

The pictograms were created by a team led by renowned Japanese designer Masaaki Hiromura (pictured below).

“Overall, I have tried to express the dynamic beauty of the athletes through the Tokyo 2020 Olympic sport pictograms,” said Hiromura. “For archery, I tried to capture the moment right before the archer releases the arrow.”

Sport pictograms have become a defining identity of each Olympic Games. They were introduced in 1964 for the first Games held in Tokyo.

Much of the inspiration for the Tokyo 2020 designs came from that original set. Archery, however, didn’t rejoin the sports programme at the Olympics until 1972 – so the pictogram, according to Hiromura, “depicts the beautiful moments in the sport of archery”.

Photo by Tokyo 2020.

“I hope these pictograms will inspire everyone and help generate excitement for the different sports at Tokyo 2020,” he added.

Variations of the pictograms will be produced with the blue of the Tokyo 2020 emblem and five other traditional Japanese colours: kurenai (red), ai (blue), sakura (pink), fuji (purple) and matsuba (green).

Archery has its history rooted in tradition in Japan. The martial art of kyudo, which has its beginnings in samurai culture in the 12th century, is still widely practised.

Modern competition archers from Japan and abroad will take the spotlight next summer in Tokyo at the first Olympics since the sport’s reintroduction to the Games to include five archery events. As well as the established individual and team competitions for recurve men and women, a mixed team medal will debut in 2020.

The archery competitions at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will begin on 24 July.