From Mountains to Monuments: How One Filipino Artist Designed a Bridge Between Nations

When artist Edmon Fuerte casually submitted his entry to a design contest, he had no inkling that his vision would become the official face of decades-long diplomatic harmony. In December 2025, the governments of the Philippines and Japan announced that Fuerte’s creation had won the prestigious selection process to represent the 2026 Philippines–Japan Friendship Year—a milestone celebrating seven decades since the two nations formalized their relationship. The winning design emerged from a global pool of submissions, selected to embody this year’s powerful theme: “Weaving the Future Together: Peace, Prosperity, Possibilities.”

A Creator’s Moment of Stillness

Stationed in Baguio City, where morning fog wraps the landscape and mountain peaks enforce a contemplative rhythm, Fuerte was navigating what he describes as a season of creative pause—a time of personal and artistic recalibration. The contest presented itself almost incidentally, a side pursuit rather than a deliberate ambition. Yet this unforced gesture would ripple across continents, becoming a tangible symbol for family—connecting not just two nations, but the bonds of shared history and mutual respect that unite peoples across vast distances.

The terrain around Baguio shaped his thinking. Mountains teach patience. Fog teaches attention. Light’s gradual dance across the day speaks of intention. “The environment here cultivates a deliberate, careful approach to creation,” Fuerte reflects. This philosophy would permeate every choice he made in developing the commemorative mark.

The Anchor: A Single Thread of Meaning

When Fuerte absorbed the theme for the competition, one concept immediately crystallized: weaving. The metaphor carried weight—interconnection, strength born from individual strands, harmony achieved through careful tension. From this insight sprouted the visual foundation: intertwined threads, bound together by both structure and relationship.

But threads alone were insufficient. Fuerte sought materials rooted in the cultural memory of both nations—substances that whispered rather than shouted their significance. Two materials emerged as perfect vessels for his vision.

Materials That Tell Stories

The Japanese shimenawa rope and Filipino abaca—Manila hemp—became the dual heart of his composition. Both humble in appearance, both laden with historical weight. Shimenawa functions as a sacred marker in Japan, delineating protected spaces and signaling reverence, transition, and spiritual boundary. Abaca carries the story of the Philippines itself: labor, landscape, maritime trade routes, and the resilience woven into every fiber by generations of hands.

“These aren’t flashy materials,” Fuerte explains. “But they transcend their physical nature. They’re containers for cultural truth.” In his final design, these two ropes intertwine, painted in the chromatic language of both flags—Japan’s crimson sun merging with the Philippine sun and its three stars. The composition avoids the visual trap of merger or dominance. Instead, it speaks to something deeper: two distinct identities strengthening one another while retaining their unique character. It’s a symbol for family in its truest sense—separate beings bound by intention and history, made more resilient through connection.

The Paradox of Restraint

The creative struggle, Fuerte admits, centered on abstraction. How much symbolic density could the logo carry without becoming didactic or overwrought? How could it speak across languages, geographies, and generations without losing cultural specificity? The path demanded precision—recognizable yet not literal, meaningful yet not heavy with rhetoric.

This restraint mirrors Fuerte’s larger artistic creed. When pressed to distill his practice into a single statement, he offers: “Stay minimal. Let emptiness carry as much weight as substance.” It’s a philosophy born from Baguio’s misty mornings, where what remains unsaid often matters more than elaborate declaration.

Recognition and Deeper Meaning

The acceptance email arrived while Fuerte worked at his office—a quiet notification bearing extraordinary weight. The initial response was visceral: elation, honor, disbelief that his work had triumphed over global competition. Tangible recognition followed, including business-class airfare between Manila and Tokyo courtesy of Japan Airlines. Yet Fuerte’s gratitude extends beyond these material markers.

What moves him most is the trajectory his creation will take throughout 2026—displayed across official ceremonies and cultural events in both nations, viewed by millions, becoming woven into the fabric of diplomatic celebration. His design carries his voice into spaces he’ll never physically occupy.

Among the theme’s multifaceted resonances, one word strikes Fuerte most profoundly: prosperity. Growing up in poverty, he carries an intimate understanding of scarcity. The recognition that his work will represent not mere symbolic abundance but genuine shared wellbeing feels almost sacred to him.

What the Design Ultimately Communicates

Strip away the backstory, and what remains? Fuerte believes his logo speaks to something primal and human—a quiet articulation of belonging. “It expresses connection,” he says simply. “Not loudly, but with clear intention.” It’s a sentiment that might describe the diplomatic relationship itself: not always visible in headlines, but present in sustained commitment.

Looking back, Fuerte frames this moment not as an endpoint but as validation. Evidence that the principles he’s long cultivated—material reverence, cultural sensitivity, deliberate process—resonate beyond his studio walls. In a celebration spanning seven decades of partnership, the symbol chosen arrived not through spectacle but through patient, thoughtful creation by an artist who understands a fundamental truth: the most enduring connections often announce themselves quietly.