Annual tradition is more beautiful than ever this year.

Education in Japan is often characterized as having very little interaction between students and their teachers. Traditionally, the instructor lectures and the students listen and take notes, with far less discussion and debate than is often present in, for example, American classrooms.

However, that shouldn’t be taken to say that all teachers in Japan are emotionally standoffish or fail to develop a bond with the children they teach. Take, for example, Japanese schoolteacher and Twitter user @hamacream. With the academic year winding down, @hamacream wanted to say goodbye to his graduating students in a special way, and so to celebrate the milestone he created this beautiful work of chalkboard art featuring the star of classic Studio Ghibli anime Kiki’s Delivery Service.

This isn’t the first time @hamacream has put his artistic skills to use in brightening his students’ day. In December he marked the end of the year with some chalk-based Totoro art.

▼ So many Totoros!

▼ An alternate angle, shared by hamacream through his Instagram account.

The talented teacher also pitched in by recreating an iconic scene from anime phenomenon Your Name for the school’s culture festival last autumn.

But while the Your Name chalkboard was a special request from his students, it seems that hamacream’s graduation presents are an annual tradition. Last year, The Little Mermaid’s Areil and Flounder offered their congratulations to the graduating class…

…and the year before that, Sanrio’s Little Twin Stars Kiki and Lala did the honors.

But that’s not to say hamacream is only concerned with animation and pop culture art. On the contrary, he’s also shown an appreciation for old masters such as da Vinci and Hokusai.

But while hamacream’s artwork has won him tons of admiration online, he’s staying humble even after achieving Internet fame. In the same tweet in which he showed his Totoro chalkboard art, he said:

“Honestly, I’ve been blessed to meet all of the people who sat in front of this chalkboard. I won’t let myself be satisfied just being a good chalkboard artist, and in the coming year I’ll continue to do all I can to get even a little closer to being as good of a teacher as the teachers who taught me.”

A beautiful sentiment, from someone who creates beautiful art.

Source: IT Media, Twitter/@hamacream