A New Scenery | Fumitoshi Kato, Dean of the Graduate School of Media and Governance
2021.04.06
Mt. Fuji, usually visible, was hidden by the sky. After passing through the tunnel, a slogan soon appeared: "A town that doesn't call people in their 70s elderly," making me chuckle wryly. After that, there was a banner that read, "The very center of Kanagawa Prefecture." After driving for a while, I saw a sign, moved into the left lane, and drove up a gentle curve. Passing through a shiny new gate, I got onto Route 42. As I drove through the unfamiliar scenery, the road had changed to Route 43 before I knew it, and eventually connected to the road leading to campus. After a right turn, it was a straight shot. With the opening of a new route, the campus may have become a little closer.
Although I commute between Tokyo and Kanagawa, I haven't been outside the Kanto region once in the past year. Until now, I used to go on fieldwork trips with students three or four times a year, which involved overnight stays. Our project to visit towns across the country with the goal of surveying all 47 prefectures has been halted with only eight prefectures left to "complete." I also frequently traveled both domestically and internationally for business trips and academic conferences. I would say my life used to involve a lot of travel, but now my range of movement has become significantly smaller. This life, consisting only of round trips between my neighborhood and designated points, gives me a strange feeling, as if I've returned to my childhood or am rehearsing for a future to come.
I avoid taking trains and buses, traveling by car as much as possible. The number of commutes has decreased, but as the time spent in front of a display has increased, I've come to enjoy the moments I spend driving. Just watching the scenery flow by the car window makes me feel like I'm reclaiming some breathing room. It seems there have been more cars on the road in recent months. While I'd rather avoid seeing a string of brake lights, the first traffic jam in a while even felt nostalgic, and I think crawling along once in a while isn't so bad.
Arriving at the university, I head to the gate. I have my temperature checked and then tap my ID card. I've gotten completely used to this series of procedures, having done them since last fall. I no longer react much to the iron fence of the gate or the traffic cones, which I initially found tasteless. On April 1, my email and social media are flooded with greetings about new jobs, moves, and transfers. People must have been eagerly awaiting this day. Good news that couldn't be shared for a while is now flying across my timeline. There are familiar names, too. There are also colleagues sharing photos of their brand-new labs or the views from their windows. I wonder if the graduates who were job hunting during these difficult times are attending their company entrance ceremonies. Time, which had been flowing quietly and uneventfully, suddenly began to buzz with life.
Needless to say, even as each of us refrains from traveling, the world around us is constantly changing. Goods and information are definitely on the move. And it is precisely because someone is moving that change is brought about. As was recently introduced in the "Okashira Nikki" (Dean's Diary), a new international student dormitory has been completed . While we were chanting "stay home" and spending our days without setting foot on campus, the building was finished, and residents have now begun to move in. Maintenance and renovations are being carried out as usual, so various parts of the campus are being meticulously kept up. The new interchange, too, was gradually constructed and has finally become available for use.
I had long felt frustrated and stressed by the restrictions on movement. I wished to be freed from these confining days as soon as possible. But on second thought, it means I was able to get by without traveling. During this difficult time, there were many people who were traveling out of a sense of duty, and thanks to them, I was able to stay put. At the newly opened interchange, I was reminded of this obvious fact.
On the way back, I traced the new route in reverse. In front of the city hall in "the very center of Kanagawa," many cherry trees are lined up. The peak bloom seems to have passed. For a while, I'll drive while gazing at the leafy cherry trees.