[No. 104] Arinori Kamono

When I advanced to Keio University from the affiliated Keio Senior High School, I didn't have a particular preference for the Faculty of Science and Technology. I wasn't particularly interested in anything specific. Although I liked physics, I was also interested in economics, literature, and languages, so I chose my faculty somewhat arbitrarily. However, I believe the reason I went on to graduate school after my time in the Department of Applied Physics and Physico-Informatics and the Biomedical Engineering Laboratory (Tomita Laboratory) was that I discovered the joy of unraveling and explaining the things that exist so naturally in the world around us. This is something that also connects to my current work as a physical therapist and a university instructor. Here, I will share some episodes from my university admission to the present, focusing on my time in the Faculty of Science and Technology and the Graduate School of Science and Technology.

Having injured my back in a high school club activity, I had trouble choosing a club at university. I remember feeling a desire to devote myself to something, coupled with the frustration of not finding a specific interest that made me think, "This is what I want to do!" It was in this context that I happened to join the "Wagner Society Male Choir." Naturally, it was all men, with about 60 to 70 members at the time. I was taken to a practice and thought, "All men? You've got to be kidding me," but I ended up getting completely hooked on singing. The five practices a week were nothing; I would sing in the clubroom or music practice rooms during my free time, and eventually, I was spending my days immersed in music, even "making" time for it. My heart was more in singing and music than in lectures, but amidst all that, what I truly enjoyed was "experiments." Following the lab manual to derive theoretically supported results. However, I remember that thinking about why a certain result was obtained, what caused the difference between the predicted value and the experimental value, whether a more careful redo of the experimental procedure would yield a value closer to the prediction, or if it was due to uncontrollable factors—and then proceeding with the experiment or writing up the report—was challenging but had a kind of fun that lectures lacked.

When I became a fourth-year undergraduate, we were assigned to laboratories for our graduation research. Still completely absorbed in singing, I chose my preferred laboratory based on the simple, almost intuitive motivation of being interested in the human body. It was only later that I learned this laboratory was famous for its thorough (i.e., strict) supervision. However, my encounter with "research" here was so impactful that it completely turned my thinking around 180 degrees, as I had previously decided there was no point in studying anymore and had no intention of going to graduate school. The theme of my graduation thesis was simulating the chaotic nature of neural firing phenomena. In addition to the fascination of that research, I believe that visiting the clinical engineering department at the Tsukigase Rehabilitation Center and being exposed to clinical research was another factor in my decision to go to graduate school. Incidentally, I still remember the words of my supervising professor, Yutaka Tomita: "There are no days off in research. It's research 365 days a year!"

In the master's program, my theme was the development of an electrical stimulation device to assist the gait of stroke patients with hemiplegia. I stayed in the staff dormitory at the Tsukigase Rehabilitation Center, developing the device, conducting trials with hospitalized hemiplegic patients, and collecting data. My encounters there with physical therapists and rehabilitation physicians greatly influenced my career path to this day. Although I had heard the word "rehabilitation," I was unfamiliar with "physical therapy," but I was drawn to this profession that specializes in human physical movement. A physical therapist is called a "Physical Therapist" in English, and while there are various interpretations, I see it as being a specialist and healer of the "physical," that is, the body. From this perspective, I wanted to be of service to people and society, and I decided to become a physical therapist.

After completing my master's degree, I transferred to the School of Allied Health Sciences at Kitasato University. Upon graduation, I passed the national examination for physical therapists and began working as a physical therapist at the JA Kyosai Naka-Izu Rehabilitation Center (Izu City, Shizuoka Prefecture). Currently, I am a full-time lecturer in the Department of Physical Therapy at the School of Health Sciences, Showa University, where I am engaged in educating students who aspire to become physical therapists.

Currently, my research theme is the theoretical elucidation of gait training methods for stroke patients with hemiplegia. Through physical therapy or rehabilitation, patients with hemiplegia regain the ability to walk and enhance it as a means of mobility in daily life. This process is not yet fully understood, and established training methods are lacking. However, the fact that patients with hemiplegia do acquire the ability to walk is already happening. I believe my future work is to establish logical paths and hypotheses to clarify the mechanisms behind this phenomenon and connect it to more effective treatments.

Now, the singing and music I started in my university days remain a precious asset. Singing in a local choir in Yokohama and performing solos while taking voice training continue to enrich my life.

Research and singing—as I write this, I am reminded once again that the things I gained while studying at the Faculty of Science and Technology and the Graduate School of Science and Technology have become what I will likely devote my life to.