The Hearts of SFC | Executive Director, Keio Research Institute at SFC Yuji Ohgi
Linden trees are planted around the statue of Yukichi Fukuzawa on campus, the Keio Building, and even around Buildings λ and θ. Their leaves are characterized by their heart shape, and they bloom with small flowers in early summer. However, for several years now, these linden trees planted on campus have been dying off one after another. The linden tree that was positioned where I could look down on it from my room withered and was cut down. The linden tree near Building θ was similarly cut down, and it seems the remaining linden trees have already reached the end of their lifespans. If you get close to the remaining linden trees and look at their bark and branches, you will see that most of them are in a dying state. In fact, it is not just the linden trees; a large zelkova tree that towered between Buildings ι and ο also withered and was cut down after its branches were pruned a few years ago. I used to see Japanese rat snakes appearing in this zelkova tree during the rainy season. When one took the wrong path and entered Building ο, I helped it outside, but it too has disappeared along with the zelkova. Now, small, thin zelkova saplings that cannot even provide shade have been planted. It is a pity for me that I can no longer see this single cycle of living things.
I am not an expert, so the reason for the withering is not certain, but there is no doubt that it is due to a lack of nutrients. The linden trees between the research buildings and the lecture buildings are planted sporadically, with only a small amount of soil at their roots. When the people from Keiryoku Sangyo were cutting them down, I happened to pass by and saw that they had shallow roots in the small amount of enclosed soil. In contrast, around Yukichi Fukuzawa, they are planted at seemingly sufficient intervals on a wide lawn. However, the lives of these hearts surrounding Yukichi Fukuzawa also seem to be like a candle in the wind.
For forest trees to grow strongly, fallen leaves accumulate every year, which over time become leaf mold, are decomposed by the power of microorganisms, and then become nutrients for the next generation to nurture new life. This means that even withered leaves have a role for the next generation. However, perhaps because SFC values aesthetic landscape, the fallen leaves on campus are neatly gathered and "disposed of" every year. We are throwing away what would become nutrients for the next generation. As someone who makes compost from food waste to grow vegetables in a small garden, I have felt it was a "waste" for many years, but far from just being a "waste," the hearts that SFC is so proud of are now about to disappear.
Unlike the Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care, which has compulsory classes for obtaining qualifications, the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, the Faculty of Policy Management, and the Graduate School of Media and Governance at SFC do not use a so-called chair system; instead, each faculty member maintains an independent laboratory, and a truly diverse range of researchers are enrolled. While there are cases where faculty members with similar research areas or methodologies hold joint research seminars, the system is basically one where individuals compete as "individuals." Therefore, when someone leaves due to retirement or transfer, we do not hire a faculty member to take over the classes that the previous faculty member was in charge of; instead, we hire a "new individual." This "new individual = new faculty member" is hired after considering the human resources with the power to communicate toward the future that SFC needs at that time. This is a strategy that emphasizes novelty and diversity. On the other hand, the "old individual" leaves after removing all research equipment, machinery, and books. At the same time, intangible assets such as the knowledge, experience, know-how, and personal networks cultivated until then are also lost. I have no objection to the fact that continuing to change with the times is the identity of SFC. On the other hand, it cannot be denied that the system does not allow for the inheritance and succession of the tangible and intangible assets that have been built up.
I was appointed as the Executive Director, Keio Research Institute at SFC last October. I have learned over the past six months that the duties of the Director are varied. One major task is to support the research of full-time and specially appointed faculty members from the three faculties and two graduate schools. While I believe that direct support for researchers involves research funds, equipment, human resources, and information provision, I am watching the linden trees fall one after another and wondering if we can create a system where the unique and groundbreaking research assets created within the diversity of SFC can become the leaf mold for the future of SFC. This is not a nostalgic feeling of "things were better in the past," but rather, just as this campus was a groundbreaking existence when SFC was founded, I am thinking: is there something missing in the system for us to continue leading the way in Keio University and challenging new things in the future? It may be a matter of how to make a system that does not change coexist within a system for changing.
I have no way of knowing whether it was the President Ishikawa at the time, or Deans Kato and Aiso, or perhaps the landscaping company commissioned with the campus planting plan who instructed that linden trees be planted all over the campus, but I reflect on the thought that they surely must have known that the leaves of the linden tree are "hearts."