The 2017 Mita-Kai Homecoming Day (Keio Rengo Mita-Kai Taikai 2017) for all Keio alumni was held at Hiyoshi Campus on Sunday, October 15. The slogan for this year’s event was “keep the spirit of ‘Wakaki-chi’ in your heart to the future.” It was set as the slogan with the hope that it would arouse strong feelings to advance towards the future while keeping “Wakaki-chi,” the Keio fight song which is celebrating 90 years since its composition, in their hearts. The fact that “Wakaki-chi” is also being used as the departure melody for the Toyoko Line at Hiyoshi station (only during October 2017), attracted many visitors to the event.
The commemorative ceremony which was held at the Hiyoshi Commemorative Hall started with an opening speech by the chair of the event committee, Takeo Obayashi, and then Keio’s school flag was brought onto the stage and the Alma Mater “The Juku-ka” was sung. Next, the chair of the Keio Rengo Mita-Kai Yoshiki Hiki greeted the audience, which was followed by an address by President Akira Haseyama, and then “Wakaki-chi” was sung by all attendees.
This year, the class of 1967, celebrating 50 years after graduation, were invited to a commemorative ceremony, and at the reunion that followed, they were seen catching up with one another and rekindling old friendships.
A live performance by Masatoshi Nakamura greatly enlivened the Hiyoshi Commemorative Hall, and in addition, at the special talk, the Keio alumni and students who participated in the Olympics talked about how the Games should be enjoyed. A variety of events were held at the various venues around the campus, which were planned to ensure that all attendees, from children to the elderly, could have an enjoyable time. A raffle offering grand prizes was also held.
About 18,800 alumni and their family members came from all over Japan again this year to spend time together on this fall day.