[No. 13] Masaru Takahashi

The Tohoku Shinkansen line has now been extended to Aomori Prefecture, and I believe more people have become familiar with Hachinohe, its terminal station. Hachinohe City has long been a thriving fishing town, but it also has a number of factories, making it a well-balanced city. Recently, the handling of overseas containers and other cargo has increased, and the city is being developed as a trading port. Although it is in the northern part of the country, it receives little snow, but the cold can be a bit harsh.

This February, Professor Sawada and students from the Department of Mechanical Engineering visited Hachinohe City for a factory tour. I believe this was made possible through the efforts of Professor Sawada and Mr. Takeuchi of Mitsubishi Paper Mills' Hachinohe Mill, who was in the same class as the professor. There is a local Hachinohe Mita-kai, and we had a dinner party with them to coincide with the factory tour. It was a great pleasure to hear various stories about Keio University after such a long time, and I was encouraged to see the current professors and students working so hard. The members who participated were also very pleased.

My fondest memory is of the Kendo Club at the Faculty of Science and Technology, for which Professor Sawada coincidentally serves as an advisor. When I entered the university, Mr. Suzuki, a senior by one year, invited me to join. There were many members in my year, and we had a very close relationship with our seniors and juniors. I have fond memories of our regular practices and training camps. The photo is from a summer training camp and shows the members of the Kendo Club from my year. I also have nostalgic memories of a friend who hid in the equipment room to escape the tough practice. I believe we had some success in matches, such as exchange tournaments and the Kanto Intercollegiate Science and Technology tournament. It seems a gathering was held this November to commemorate the Kendo Club's 40th anniversary, and I was disappointed that I could not attend. After graduation, I have continued to practice kendo, albeit intermittently, and I participate in local town competitions and adult tournaments as a player or coach. I believe that being able to practice with various people during my university days has been very beneficial for me today. I hope to continue to be involved in kendo in the future.

My work is in the hotel industry, which may seem unfitting for a graduate of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, but it is because I took over the family business. My late father was also a graduate in science and technology, so I am doing my best to manage. Although I was not a diligent student, the knowledge I gained during my time at the university has enabled me to discuss detailed matters regarding hotel facilities without any difficulty, and I feel it has often been useful in areas such as structuring the company. This may be because we were able to freely design our curriculum in our first and second years. It was probably a good thing that there were various lectures available, not limited to our specialization. Above all, the network of seniors and juniors from the Juku whom I have met in various places since graduation has become an invaluable asset. I am grateful for this, as it is the greatest asset I gained from my studies at Keio University.

I will conclude my humble writing with my best wishes for the success of everyone at the Faculty of Science and Technology.