The Okashira's Prophecy: SFC in 15 Years | Ikuo Kaneko (Dean, Graduate School of Media and Governance)

2009.02.10

What will SFC be like in 15 years? One could say that no one knows. I came to SFC in 1994, when the graduate school was established. Back then, whether you came by car from the direction of Shonandai or Tsujido, the road would just “disappear” along the way, and you couldn’t reach SFC without navigating a series of winding roads. Now, a wide, straight road has been built from Tsujido Station. The cherry trees on both sides of the approach road leading from outside the campus, through the “back” security gate, to the junior and senior high school buildings have grown large, and they are quite a sight to enjoy during the season.

The world is a place where you never know what will happen, and that is precisely why people seek things that do not change. Tradition is one of them. So, what is the tradition of Keio University, which has lasted for over 150 years?

This happened quite some time ago, when I was a member of the National Commission on Educational Reform. (This was an advisory council to the prime minister, proposed by Prime Minister Obuchi, but he passed away soon after its launch, and Mr. Mori took over.) When the commission published its interim report, in which I had proposed the idea of community schools (community schools were later institutionalized and now number over 350 nationwide), a few members and I went to report to the Diet's Committee on Education. When the commission's chairman, Reona Esaki, stated, “Japanese education needs the virtues of tradition that Japanese society has long preserved,” one of the Diet members quickly raised her hand to object. It was Yasuko Ikenobo, a member of the House of Representatives from Kyoto and part of a family renowned for flower arrangement. She said, “That is not correct. Tradition is not something to be preserved; it is by changing it daily that it survives and endures.” It was impressive to see Ms. Ikenobo contradict a Nobel laureate, but it was also impressive that Mr. Esaki readily conceded, “Ah, you are right.”

The tradition of Keio University, too, is surely not about rigidly defending the old ways. Rather, it is the spirit of not being afraid to constantly change as needed that was embodied by Yukichi Fukuzawa, who was one of the leading social entrepreneurs of his time.

(Date of publication: 2009/02/10)