New Year's Day 2020 @ SFC | Motohiro Tsuchiya, Dean of the Faculty of Policy Management
2020.01.21
After passing Shimo-Iida Station on the Yokohama Municipal Subway line, just before entering the tunnel to Shonandai Station, there is a spot where the view suddenly opens up. There, I saw the first sunrise of the year through a break in the clouds. Although I have a lingering cough from a cold I caught at the end of last year, I have a feeling that good things will happen this year.
Besides myself, there were 14 other people on the bus departing from the Shonandai West Exit bus stop at 7:35 a.m. I didn't think many people would be going to the university on New Year's Day morning, so I wondered where they were headed. Three people got off at the Minami-Oyama bus stop in front of Ito-Yokado. Everyone else rode to the last stop, "Keio University." It seems most of them were people working at Keiyu Hospital. Thank you for your hard work, starting from New Year's Day.
I was the only one heading onto the campus. I raised my hand to greet the security guard. The deserted campus was filled with fresh air. The light of the first sunrise was reflecting off the Omega Building.
I wrote part of this manuscript in my office and then gathered in front of the North Gate security office at 8:40 a.m. I was joined by Dean Yuko Takeda of the Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care and Campus Administrative Director Toshiko Hirota. We walked a few minutes to the Endo Seibu Community Hall.
Going back 15 years to New Year's Day 2005, Joichi Yoshino, then Dean of the Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care, wrote about his experience . The secretarial team advised me to read it, so I studied it carefully. It seems that after the greetings, Dean Tomoyuki Kojima of the Faculty of Policy Management said, "Well, we'll be on our way," and they left in what was described as a "quick shuffle." I see, a "quick shuffle."
In addition, upon his retirement, Dean Yoshino looked back on this diary and wrote, "Every year, I summarized the New Year's party on New Year's Day. This New Year's event seems likely to continue for a long time to come. To the deans of SFC's faculties and graduate schools, and the administrative directors, I wish you all the best in your future endeavors." Professor Yoshino, it's still going on!
I attended the Endo District New Year's Party with local residents, the mayor of Fujisawa, and members of the House of Representatives, prefectural assembly, and city council elected from the local area. It was a new and fresh experience for me to gather with the local community like this. The solidarity of the local community, gathering at 9:00 a.m. on New Year's Day, is also wonderful. After a toast with beer, I spoke about working hard together on community development. Then, Dean Takeda said, "Well, we'll be on our way," and we tried to make our "quick shuffle" exit, but we got caught in a series of bows with various people and couldn't leave easily.
From there, I went directly to Sengen Shrine, located southwest of the campus. There's a jinx that if the dean doesn't visit the shrine on New Year's Day, the number of applicants for the entrance exams will decrease. In "Fukuō Jiden," there is a story about Yukichi Fukuzawa testing whether he would be divinely punished for stepping on a talisman. I thought about deliberately not visiting as an option, but since the number of applicants is expected to decrease this year, I decided to see if a visit might increase it.
Apparently, 12 years ago on New Year's Day 2008, Dean Naoyuki Agawa of the Faculty of Policy Management and Dean Hideyuki Tokuda of the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies also paid a visit . I realized later that I must have been feeling greedy, as I had thrown in 50 times the offering amount of Dean Agawa . I'll just blame it on inflation.
On the way back, I took the Sotetsu Line from Shonandai Station. The sky had completely cleared up. Just before Izumino Station, I could see Mt. Fuji under a cloudless blue sky. It seems this year will be a good one after all.