https://www.komabatimes.com/
English Newsletter by Komaba Students

Content

Student Life……………… page 1
Komaba Campus……… page 8
Perspectives…………… page 14
Exploring Japan………… page 20

27 Articles // April 2017 // Issue 6

Photo by Prakhar Misra.

STUDENT LIFE
Class of 2019: Lost in transition

By Yu Yu PhuaIn the 2015-2016 academic year, the Universityof Tokyo implemented a large-scale universitywide educational reform, with the aim of improving its quality of education and competitivenesswith other top universities worldwide. One of
the most controversial reforms to the junior division students was the change in the admission
system to the senior division (i.e. proceeding to
specific majors in our 3rd year). However, withthe system for the class of 2019 being discontinued only after one year, it seems that we will bea year forgotten in history.
With the first term of 2016 almost complete (atthe time this piece was originally published), a
number of trends had emerged for how 2nd year
students had planned out their timetable. Some
had tried to fulfill all the junior division graduation requirements in their first year and thus have
had a front-heavy timetable. For the Natural Sciences students, this would leave them with only
required classes in the 2S1 term, and nothing
in the 2S2 term. For the Humanities and Social
Sciences students, they did not have requiredclasses in their second year, which effectively
meant that they were potentially able to have a
9-month break from January to September.
This was seen with much envy from students
who still have unfulfilled requirements, but being self-motivated students of the University ofTokyo, many people without classes in 2S1 and
2S2 spent their extended break effectively, withmany still showing up to classes, albeit without
enrolling in them.
In the new system applicable to the class of
2019, the grades of all classes carry equal
weightage. In contrast, in the prior system, results of any classes enrolled beyond the juniordivision graduation requirement have only a 0.1
weightage. This has had a huge impact on not
only which classes students enrolled in, but also
when they enrolled.
The change in enrollment patterns and behaviour
should not come as a surprise. In a competitiveenvironment, where a hundredth of a point can determine whether or not you get admitted into thedepartment you want, it has had the unintended
effect of students attending classes without enrolling in them. It has also created the bigger problem
of students enrolling in classes that are gradedleniently, while putting off enrolling in classes they
are really interested in till 2A semester, when thegrades would not affect admission to senior division. In addition, in the previous system, students
tended to take more classes than necessary so
as to increase their average score, but in the newinterim system, there was no motivation to takemore classes than necessary to graduate.
All these contradict the purpose of the junior division education, which aims to provide a broadbased liberal arts education. The academic
affairs division acknowledged the problems of
having all results carry equal weightage, and has
once again revised the senior division admission
system for the class of 2020. The system forthe class of 2020 as a whole aims for students
to explore a wider range of subjects, instead of
striving single-mindedly to get as high a scoreas possible. For example, in order to reduce
students’ obsessions with every hundredth of apoint, some faculties have come up with a GPAlike scale, and grades up till 2S semester will betaken into consideration. Also, more faculties will
employ a holistic approach to admitting students
at an earlier stage, through interviews and essays for the class of 2020.

Senior division admission guidebooks

It is unclear if unintended negative effects will
similarly arise from the new senior division admission system for the class of 2020. The classof 2019 unfortunately got stuck in the transition
between systems and were more risk aversein course selections. However, those withoutclasses in S semester or S2 term have set theirsights away from classes and many are looking
for learning opportunities beyond the classroom,such as summer programs abroad or locally. This
exploration beyond classroom walls sounds rightin line with what junior division education is supposed to be about. Ironically, these opportunities
were gifted by the very system which the academic affairs division thought stifled exploration
into a wide variety of subjects.
Glossary:
Junior division, senior division: The first 2 yearsof the undergraduate years are known as thejunior division while the 3rd and 4th years are
known as the senior division.
Each academic year is divided into 4 terms,
namely S1, S2, A1 and A2.
S1 and S2 combined is called S semester, A1
and A2 combined is called A semester.
The number before either S or A refers to the school
year, so 2S1 refers to S1 term of second year.

Want to be a GO Tutor?

By RongXuan Tan

trouble in other matters, such as inadministrative matters pertaining toschool or living in Japan in general.
Jennifer Ieong, a 1st-year PEAK student, visits the GO lounge at least
four times a week and has had closeinteractions with the GO tutors. GO
tutors mostly help her by looking overand correcting her assignments forJapanese classes but beyond that,
she has also become friends with several of them. In fact, just recently, shewent for a karaoke session with someof them and had a very good time. “GOtutors are very friendly”, she enthused.

GO tutors and students hanging out together

Ever been to the KOMCEE basement and seen a
big group of students – both Japanese and international – hanging out outside the Globalisation
Office (GO Office) and seemingly having a greattime together? These students are a mix of GO
tutors, other University of Tokyo students, andexchange students.
For international students - be they PEAK stu-

dents or exchange students - one of the firstgroups of people they get to know and become
close to are the GO tutors. GO tutors are regular
University of Tokyo students, and usually, a few
GO tutors at a time can be found at the tables
right outside the Globalisation Office during andafter lunch break. As the name suggests, GO tutors provide assistance in school work, but theyalso try their best to help those who are having

There are around 20 GO tutors intotal, and their main role is to be thebridge between foreign and Japanese
students and assisting international
students in settling down and fitting
into Japan, especially those who are
not fluent in Japanese and require
some help. “Even in Komaba, there isa big international student bubble thatis difficult to penetrate into and out of,
and GO tutors try to facilitate interaction for international students to know
more about Japanese students and vice versa”,
explains Bryan Kuek, a 4th-year PEAK student
who has been a GO tutor since 2013.
The name ‘GO tutor’ might cause some students
to think that the particular area in the GO lounge
is reserved for tutors and those in need of tutoring, but Bryan assures that anybody is welcome
to drop by. School work is just one small part ofUndoukai: Another Passion of Todai

By Hye June Seo

What is an undoukai ( 運 動 会 )? In Japanese,undoukai refers to a big yearly sport event inschools, where students compete with each other in various sports. The University of Tokyo uses
the word differently, referring it to an associationof sports teams. Whereas other universities use
the word taiikukai ( 体 育 会 , athletics association)
instead of undoukai. Apparently Todai is the only
university that uses the term in a special way.
The official name is Athletic Foundation of the
University of Tokyo ( 東 京 大 学 運 動 会 ). Currently,
there are 46 clubs and teams in this foundation.
Japanese university students’ extracurricularclub activities are mainly circle ( サ ー ク ル ) andbukatsu ( 部活 ). The main difference between circle
and bukatsu is its freedom of commitment and theatmosphere of the club. People who get in circles
are mainly to enjoy the club and also be able todo other activities like studying or working. On theother hand, bukatsu is more strict about committment and its main goal is to leave high scores forthe school. Also, all bukatsu are conceded by theuniversity, meaning they are supported financially.

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Each team has different activity hours, but mostof the teams practice more than two days per
week. The teams considered major sports likebaseball or football team practice five or six day
a week.There is the seikiren ( 正 規 練 ), the official
practice where members should be attending, and jishuren ( 自 主 練 ), an optional practicedepending on the member’s own will. Many
students take part in jishuren to get better, so
it’s actually more semi-obligatory hours on topof the seikiren. The practice in the morning iscalled asaren ( 朝 練 ), while the one in the evening
is yoruren ( 夜 練 ). Some really tough scheduled
teams have their practice in the middle of thenight called shinyaren ( 深 夜 練 ). It may seem alittle complicated, but as an example, my fencing
team have practice 3 days a week after schoolaround 6pm, so it becomes a yoruren.

ful language, but also kouhais putting away theequipment after every practice, or even cleaning
the senpais’ clothes.

Another unique point about undoukai is thesenpai-kouhai ( 先 輩 - 後 輩 ) culture. Of course in
any area, Japan’s society is strict with this issue,
but it’s more obvious in bukatsu. Not to mention
the greetings or the attention to use respect-

So why, are students so passionate about getting into undoukai even with all the busy schedules and senpai-kouhai culture?

The most important and ultimate goal of themembers is to win at the competition. It’s notabout just enjoying the sports, the goal is toleave a good record for the school, to gain fame.
Regarding that, any competition is valuable tothe members. Mostly, competitions are held on
the weekends or during breaks, but still some areon the weekdays. The situation where members
have tournament on class day is a dilemma. But
still, a lot of them will choose to go to the tournament because members consider bukatsu apriority. This was what surprised me at first, thateven Todai students, would place bukatsu above
classes.

“The atmosphere and senpai-kouhai culture is

STUDENT LIFE
it; there are those who go there for help in school
work, but there are also those who drop by toask miscellaneous questions about life in Japan,
and some who just want to chat. As a frequenterof the GO tutors’ table myself, I can safely saythat although many of us do our homework
there, at the same time, we talk to each other,and soon become friends.

The Selection Process
Selection of new GO tutors has just ended, andthose who frequent the GO lounge and the GO
tutors’ table would have realised that there are
five more tutors. How are these five selected?
Twice a year at the beginning of each semester,
the GO Office calls for applications, requiring applicants to submit their CV, academic results, andan essay (usually asking about the applicant’s intercultural experience and what they have learnt).
Applicants’ academic results and essays are thenperused, and candidates are shortlisted. In thesecond round, interviews are conducted to select the students who will ultimately become GO
tutors. Every semester, around 3 to 6 students are
selected, depending on how many tutors left togo abroad on exchange programs or graduated.
Generally, the GO Office looks for students whowill fit with current tutors, are helpful, willing tocommunicate, and friendly with international
students. According to Mariko Osawa, lecturer
at the Globalisation Office and one of the people
in charge of GO tutors, there are students whowish to become a tutor to improve their English
through interaction with international student.
However, “that is not a good attitude” she says.

“The priority should be on helping international
students and not how you can benefit from it”.

“Next time it might be the other way round, so forstudents who failed this time, please try again”.

Compared to just two or three years ago, it is
now much easier to find tutors. The GO tutor
program started merely three years ago, and at
the beginning, nobody knew about it. As such,
the GO Office had difficulty finding tutors, having to rely on students who had returned fromexchange programs abroad. Now, the problem isfinding good tutors, especially for mathematics
and science. “It is difficult to find students who
are good in the sciences and are also able tospeak English fluently”, says Professor Osawa.
“Many of those who can speak English fluently
are from the Humanities side”.

Being a GO tutor

For those interested in being a GO tutor, Professor Osawa has some advice. The first thing to
do would be to improve one’s English, especiallyfor those who might not be so fluent in the language. In addition, it would be helpful to takepart in events organised by the GO Office andactually interact with international students before applying.
Yusuke Sakurai, project lecturer and anotherperson-in-charge of GO tutors, would also liketo encourage those who were not chosen to be
GO tutors previously to not be discouraged andreapply during the next round. GO tutors arealso selected based on what the tutoring systemneeds, and for the recently concluded selection,
the GO Office were looking for students majoringin the sciences. As such, although the GO Officereceived many excellent applications from students in the Arts stream, they had to turn themaway. “It’s just bad luck”, says Professor Sakurai.

One of the main worries students who wish to
become GO tutors have is not being able tocope with the added commitment of being a
GO tutor. However, Bryan assures that trying tojuggle GO tutor duties and school work is not as
difficult as one might think, reason being the GO
Office allows tutors to choose their work hours. “Itreally depends on how committed you want tobe more than anything”, he says.
However, that is not to say being a GO tutor is all
fun and games. After all, students do approach
GO tutors for help, and GO tutors have to beequipped to help them. As such, tutors have tofigure out how best to help and adapt to what
other students need. Bryan mentions how due
to changes in the PEAK mathematics syllabus
recently, there were topics he did not cover previously, and he therefore had to self-study sothat he can assist those who ask him for help in
mathematics.
Despite these challenges, or maybe even becauseof them, being a GO tutor can be a very fulfillingjob. When Bryan successfully helps a student, hefeels a sense of satisfaction. The fact that “the job
itself is fun, and the overall atmosphere is very
lively” also adds to the perks of the job.
Bryan hopes that more students will visit the GO
tutors’ table. “It doesn’t have to be for work, justhanging out to chat is fine”. Next time you’re in
the GO lounge, do drop by to say hi!

not strict at all so I can enjoy the bukatsu at full.
Plus, because the practice is three times a week
I can do other things and never thought of it hectic since my middle/high school bukatsu was fivetimes a week. Above all, I love saber and nothing’s gonna stop that!” (Hiromu Sasaya, Fencing
team)“Although it may be true that the practice schedule is strict, I can lean on my senpais and friendson the team. Since we practice together until
the senior year, it’s really all about nakama ( 仲 間 ,friend on your side). I enjoy lacrosse, but morethan that, I love my teammates.” (Miku Sano,
Women’s Lacrosse team)This year, University of Tokyo is the host schoolof the 55th annual nanadaisen ( 七 大 戦 ), the competition between the seven old imperial schools
in Japan. As the host school of the main event,it seems that members of each team will put ineffort to organize the competition thoroughly, butwill no doubt aim to leave with the highest scores
ever.

Moment of the perfect Touché | Photo by Mohiro Ito.

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Senpai ( 先輩 )By Abhishek Gupta

on the viewpoint of
the person. There aremany roles of senpais
at different places likehigh school, university,c i rc l e , b u k a t s u a n dother places. Generally in high schools,
senpais are very strict
and even in some highschools the kohai haveto greet their senpais
and use ‘Keigo’ (honorifics) whenever they see
them. However, apartof academic help, thesenpais in high schools
give lots of advices
about the courses andhow to study for getting
into the university.

Senpai and Kohai relation through cooking and eating together, having trips and teaching each other.

Students around the world have different perception about their seniors as they face the world
firstly under their seniors, and then developing acloser relationship with their seniors. In Japan,
seniors are generally called ‘Senpai.’ The kanji(chinese characters) for senpai is 先 輩 in which
the kanjis literally means the person or fellow
who is ahead of you or a superior elder. Beingtaught by senpais about what to do and what
not to do, the meaning of senpai has begun tochange for me. Having senpais who act like the4well of wisdom was awesome. But while I wasamused, I realized my Japanese friends had
different and varied experiences of senpai andkohai (Junior, 後 輩 ).
So this urged me to think deeper about this relation of senpai and kohai. Fundamentally I realizedthat there are no big differences between these
relations anywhere in the world. The differencein the relation depends on the situation, placeand environment you belong to. It also depends

Once in university, thesenpais are generally
not very harsh like inhigh schools, but therelation becomes more
like a teacher-student
one. In one’s major, thesenpais may help withvarious type of advices
about the courses andinside the circles theyteach their kohai various sports and otherco-curricular activities. One of my friend
from Kyudo (traditionalarchery) club told me
that, “Kyudo is a Japanese traditional sportso, we have many rules
regarding behaviour inthe field. We can enter
the field only after weacquire the series of
behaviours.” She also
added that they had
a lot of tests regarding the behaviour as
they had a total of ten
phases of behaviour
which are tested by
the senpais. Therefore, here the relation
between senpai andkohai is similar to thatbetween a teacher anda student.
It is refreshing to know so much about things
which are totally different from one’s perspective.
Also senpais in PEAK are really kind and generous and very different from other senpais. They
help in almost every things and also teaches us
life hacks so that it’s easy for us to enjoy ourlives. This relationship between senpai and kohai
is a general example of mutual understanding
between people.

STUDENT LIFE
A Window into Todai

By Kyle Smith

On May 14th and 15th, 2016, the University of Tokyo’s 89th annual May Festival, Gogatsusai, washeld at the University of Tokyo’s Hongo campus.
The two-day event featured booths, performances, and competitions run by the Universityof Tokyo’s many clubs and associations, called“sakuru”, or circles. According to the event pamphlet, this year’s May Festival included over 230
student-run attractions, not including their evenmore numerous scheduled events and performances.
Attractions ranged from sporting events to foodstalls to information booths to event stages.
Circles used attractions like these to promoteand fundraise for themselves, offering entertainment, cultural insight, and unique festival foods
to attendees.
Students played in and cheered on sports, put
their hearts into musical performances, and dedicated their time to long shifts at festival stalls,
with some students volunteering to staying almost all day both days doing several such tasks.
Students dedicated to their circles didn’t seemtoo phased by long hours, with one U. Tokyo
student calling their time volunteering at the May
Festival “exhaustingly fun”.

Among the sporting events shown was a nail-biting match between The University of Tokyo and
Waseda University’s women’s lacrosse teams.
U. Tokyo’s team, “Celeste”, emerged victorious
by one point, cheered on by U. Tokyo’s very own
oenbu (pep band).
The festival was not a quiet one, with stages
dedicated to U. Tokyo’s talented musicians anddancers. Visitors were greeted by a cappella performances at the iconic akamon, Hongo campus’
huge red gate, and further inside the campus
were able to see a large scale dance-battle—if
they could see over the enormous crowd.
International circles shared their culture withfood, drink, and demonstrations, with such fineexamples of Russian alcohol samples and awonderful interactive display of Indian dance.
Massive crowds dwarfed those seen at Komaba
campus’ Komaba Festival last year, filling the
sprawling Hongo campus to the brim with foottraffic. Most attendees of the May Festival werestudents from U. Tokyo and other neighboring
universities, with many parents and siblings tagging along to see the great efforts put into theevent.
The May Festival also acted as a “window into

Todai”, where high school students may catch
glimpses of university life. “Onakura” or same
year students, students were also able to see
what their classmates’ interests are outside of
the classroom.
Relationships were a key part of a good festival
experience, helping event-goers choose between
the literal hundreds of options present. Festival
attendees made sense of navigating the large
campus by settings courses for the booths offriends and family.
One might have also make choices based on
maeuriken (presale tickets), which were sold in
the weeks prior to the festival, offering festival
goods and services at a discount. “You have to
make sure you know the right people”, said one
student volunteer, advising festival goers to savemoney by limiting purchases to maeuriken andthose benefitting friends.
Many circles put booth proceeds towards
uchiage closing parties, where volunteers areable to rest and celebrate a job well done.
And a job well done it was. This year’s Gogatsusai offered endless amusement thanks to thecommitment of many dedicated U. Tokyo student volunteers.

A musical performance on the main stage at the University of Tokyo’s May festival (Photo credit Xuan Truong Trinh)

5Participants and Teacher-in-charge of the workshop

Todai’s Very Own Movie Premiere

By RongXuan Tan

Although there was no red carpet and no flashingcameras, there was a sizeable crowd of students
and professors as some of Todai’s student filmmakers presented their very own self-directed
and self-produced documentaries. The screeningof the two documentaries was the culmination ofseven months of hard work by a group of six students, who – other than one person – have had
no prior experience in film production.

helpful,” explained one of the participants in thisworkshop. Beyond the technical skills, the students also gained other valuable experience. “Welearnt a lot from filming the documentary,” said
one student. “My group interviewed some Japanese-American couples to see how they split
the housework and child-raising, and we realisedthat the situation was more complex in America
than we initially assumed”.

These six students were specially selected after
a rigorous application process to participate in
the film production workshop. As part of thisworkshop, the students not only planned, directed, and produced a twenty-minute documentary
all on their own; they also went to Los Angeles to
conduct the necessary interviews and to film.

The documentaries are titled ‘Gender Roles: Who
Should Raise the Child’ and ‘The Timeliner – LA
Theaters’. Gender Roles gave the audience alook into three Japanese-Americans households
in Los Angeles, focusing on how the husband
and wife divide household chores and childraising duties. This documentary was createdin response to the gender ‘problem’ in Japan,
and to get people to think about childcare. This
documentary successfully went beyond simply
criticising the ‘Japanese way’ and praising the‘American way’ and holding it up as the ideal
for Japanese parents. Instead, it reflected thecomplexity and difficulty of reality, and the issues

Since for the majority of the students this wasan entirely new experience, they had to learn
from scratch how to go about making a video.
“Most of the skills required to produce a film, forexample cinematography and editing, was selftaught. We watched videos, which were very

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brought up by the families interviewed – thosethat they had to navigate when deciding how to
split the job, and those that they are facing now– are what many couples, not only in America
or Japan but around the world, are also dealing
with or will have to deal with.
The Timeliner – LA Theatres explored the movie
culture in Los Angeles – the home of the U.S.
film industry and Hollywood – and showed viewers a cinema, movie-going culture that is vastlydifferent from those in Japan. Movie theatres, orrather, palaces, are grand architectures, built in
an attempt to elevate movies to an art form andmovie-going to a cultural experience, much likethe opera. Instead of multiplexes showing digitalfilms, there are still many single screen cinemas
showing films on film. Through interviews withmanagers of cinemas and movie-goers themselves, this documentary delved into the history,
the decline, but also the innovation of movie theatres in Los Angeles in response to competition
from YouTube and other streaming sites.

STUDENT LIFE
Welcome to UTTF!

By Yuka Fujiwara

Walking around Komaba Campus, have you everstopped your feet at the athletic field near theback gate? The University of Tokyo Track and
Field (UTTF) club members spend hours on that
athletic field devote their time to be stronger andfaster for themselves and for the team.
Approximately 160 members belong to UTTF, including myself, which is one of the biggest clubs
at UTokyo. We belong to the second league ofthe Kanto intercollegiate now, practicing hard to
be in the top league. Each member belongs to aparticular section, which focuses on a particular
event, depending on their ability and preference.
The sport “track-and-field”, is one word literally,
though it contains several events based on human basic movements, running, walking, jumping and throwing.

Established on those skills, UTTF has six sections:
1) Sprinting:100m, 200m, 400m, hurdles and relays
2) Jumping: Long jump, triple jump, high jumpand pole vault.
3) Throwing. Shot put, discus throw, javelin
throw, and hammer throw4) Race walking. They compete through walking,a movement we cannot live without. The rules
on how you walk are very strict. For example,
one foot always must be on the ground. A
member of the walking section mentions that“it is a very tough event. You need a strong
mentality to win.”5) Middle distance running: 800m and 1500m.
Karube Satoshi, the chief of UTTF-middle
distance claims that 800m is attractive tohim because you can compete with people
throughout the whole race. “Sprint events are

too short, you never move from your lane, andlong distances are too long for me,” he says.
6) Long distance running. Those competing in thissection run more than 5000m. Ekiden is something that is very special to this part, especiallythe very famous Hakone Ekiden, which is held
every New Year. In October, selected members
run 20km at the Hakone-Ekiden qualifying race,
which is a qualifying match for the real race.
The chance to compete in this event is basedon the total time of the ten fastest runners ineach university team, and only ten universities ultimately make it to the real race. The aimof UTTF-long distance is to participate in therace. Kondo Shuichi, who was selected to bein the gakurensenbatsu-team (a team for those
who ran at a good time, but whose university
wasn’t able to make to the top 10) says , “I’mobsessed with Hakone Ekiden, it’s my dream.”these events are about personal bests, one
might think it’s all about the individual at UTTF.
But this is a big mistake. In the Interscholastic
games, we fight for the team.

strategy at real time.

Photo of UTTF

The main activities of UTTF
Practice happens every Tuesday, Thursday andSaturday (some parts have practices on Sunday,too) at the athletic field in Komaba campus.
Though practice schedules are largely decided
by the upperclass students, everyone on theteam thinks about the purpose of the practice,
how to make it better, discuss their opinions andfinally come up with a completed practise schedule. The schedule is literally made by the “team”.
What to do on non-practice days is completely
up to individual members. Karube says coming
up with one’s individual schedule is very enjoyable and is a nice feature of UTTF.
Track and Field is a sport marked by individual
records. Members endure hard practices to run
or walk faster, jump or throw further. To show thisthey take part in track and field meets. Because

The Interscholastic games are competed by the
total points of each universities and points are
given to the high placed athlete’s team. Who will
participate in which event is decided by analyzing athletes on other school teams and understanding the strengths of our own team athletes,
and is all about strategizing to get most points.
In the middle distance section which I belong to,
we think of how to run, what pace to run or how
to control the race. Shall we lead the race rightfrom the start, or let other teams lead and takeover later? We consider not only the way one canwin, but also how to make our teammates win
as well. And of course, we never know what will
happen on the day, so we need to change ourInterscholastic games are special for the team. “I
get nervous, but I love the match,” says Karube.
He went on to say that good records are meaningful because that means his win contributes
to the team. And the joy achieved by playing anactive part of the team makes him want to run as
fast as he can. Indeed, it is all about “all for one,
one for all”.
For me, UTTF is my family. I run and wish to become much more competitive because I want toshare the joy with them. I can endure hard practices and enjoy running because I’m not alone;
UTTF members are with me, cheering me on.
Karube states, “If one has something they can
devote themselves to other than studying, one’s
life will become much richer. I would be happy ifthat thing is track and field.”

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KOMABA CAMPUS
Secret Relaxing Places on Komaba Campus

By Yuya Nagata

Wakan-ura. Photo by author.

Memories of Komaba Dormitories

By Naoki Mizutani

Have you ever wondered why Komaba campus
does not have dormitories on campus? They evidently existed until 15 years ago.
Komaba dormitories derive from the first highschool under the pre-WWⅡ education system, inJapanese, “ichiko”. The first dormitories of icchu(the predecessor of ichiko) were built in 1890 at
Mukougaoka, where the Faculty of Agriculture
is currently located, and not at Komaba. At the
opening of dormitories, the principal at that time
gave students four principles; –prudence, affection, self-effacement, and cleanliness. All ichiko
students had to live in the dormitories, however,students were authorized self-governing, legislation and administration system, which was inherited by Komaba dormitories.
In 1935, as part of the reconstruction that occurred after the 1923 Kanto Earthquake, the dormitories moved to Komaba. The new dormitories`
buildings were designed by Professor Uchida,
who also designed the first building in Komaba,
Yasuda auditorium in Hongo, and many mainbuildings in University of Tokyo. The solidly built

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dormitories were used for over 60 years.
After WWⅡ, ichiko became the College of Arts
and Sciences in accordance with the postwar
education reform. Female students were permitted to enter UTokyo, but not to live in the dormitories. Living in the dormitories became optional,
and students themselves conducted selection of
students who could reside. Shortly after WWⅡ,
around 1000 people were living there. Because
dormitories had common rooms, it was opened
for all people, even for strangers. Not only individual students, but also many clubs used thedormitories as their rooms.

dents living short of money. Food was such a
serious matter for students that they organizedriots against employees of dining hall complaining about the taste of meals before WWⅡ. Widespace of dining hall played an important role as
the space students made free use of, such as fortheater, for party revenue.
The dormitories` festivals were held every summer and autumn. Each room created booths andattracted many people. Once, a club stand sold
grilled meat of a stray campus dog. This incident
was strongly criticized, but became one of thefamous events in the history of festivals.

“The typical image of Komaba dormitories wereold and dirty” says Hirofumi Matsumoto in his
book ‘The Story of Todai Komaba Dormitories’(Kadokawa, 2015). Three or more students lived
in one room, and the use varied widely. Somewere distinctly separated to individual spaces
with bookshelves or plywood, others were not.

Protests by students against the school authorities were also held frequently. They protested
about social issues, tuition increases, and disuseplan proposed one-sidedly in 1991.The university
was planning to build new accommodations in
Mitaka and abolish Komaba dormitories. The chiefreason of this was deterioration of dormitories.

Dormitories had their own dining hall, which
provided plenty and inexpensive food for resi-

While the students protested to maintain thedormitories, the university executed their plan.

It is very important for students to find comfortable
places to relax in campus.
When you want to relax in
Komaba campus,where doyou go? You may choose thelibrary, cafeteria or KOMCEE.
When it comes to relaxing,
however, these are the worst
places to go, as seats are
hardly available, fresh air islimited and the buzz of lively
chatter can keep even theheaviest sleeper awake.
S o a re t h e re a n y p l a c e s
where students can relax
free of people and noise? Insearch of the perfect hiding
spot, I interviewed a coupleof students on where they
go to relax. On the basis of
the interviews, I would like toshare three places to relax.
First I recommend the terrace
deck of second floor cafeteria
Dining Icho. With a great viewof the beautiful courtyard andsky, this place is suited forrelaxing, reading and enjoying the scenery. Moreover,relatively less people are inthis space than downstairs. It
is often quiet, especially after
the lunchtime rush hour so
you can find seats more eas-ily. However, it’s outdoors, so in the summer you
may not be able to stay there for a long time because of the heat, and in the winter you probably
have to endure the cold. So I recommend using
this space in spring or autumn.
Second I recommend “Wakan- Ura” (the placebehind the Japanese style house). This building
is next to the Komaba Communications Plazaand near the Komaba pond. The porch area iscalled engawa. The engawa is like a porch attached to the building made of wooden floor thatstands along the room side and extends to theoutside of the room. Around this place there isrich greenery and few people so you can enjoy
reading books, listen to music or take a nap inthe silence, and take in beauty of nature. But you
have to be careful when you relax in this place,because in the summer there are a lot of mosquitoes!
Finally I recommend the First Year Activity Center. This building stands between the Komaba
museum and Yanaihara Park. Not only first year
students but also other students can use thisfacility. This building is small but few people use
this facility so you can find a seat more easily
than in the cafeteria or library. In addition, you
can consult with peer advisors, who are third or
fourth year students or graduate students, about
various things related to academic life. In addition to studying there, students are allowed totalk with friends or take a rest.
Other than those above, there may be some niceplaces to relax in Komaba campus. Enjoy finding
your own favorite places.

In 1996, the authorities declared Komaba dormitories condemned. The dormitories` electricity
and gas supply was cut off, and the demolition
started while, students continued living in thebuildings. The university trustees resolved totake legal action. In the court, execution of thesurrender was decided.
Ultimately, on August 22nd 2001, the day typhoon was approaching, the evacuation was
executed. Students did not resist. People remaining on the site of the dormitories were also
evicted in 2002. Dormitories were absorbed into
Mitaka International Hall of Residence.
Now, at the site of Komaba dormitories stands
Multi-purpose Hall, Communications Plaza, andLibrary among other things. The monument of
the dormitories is left quiet in a corner of the garden.
It is easy to say the disuse of Komaba dormitories was historically inevitable. However, we shallnot forget the dormitories existed and many students lived on Komaba campus.

The monument of Komaba Dormitories

9Explaining the Inexplicable: Urban Legends in Todai

By Angeli Rambukpota“Life is so much more interesting with monsters in it” says folklorist Mikel J. Koven to
LiveScience.com. “It’s the same with these legends. They’re just good stories”.
Urban legends - almost everyone has one toshare. From the Loch Ness monster to Bigfoot,the world is filled with stories of questionable
authenticity. With a rich history and prestigious
background, University of Tokyo has cumulated
its fair share of urban legends. Here are some ofthe popular tales circulating in the university:

1. The Gingko legend
This one’s regarded a classic. Almost all freshmen upon entering the university are warned
about this one. Based on the gingko tree avenue,
the legend goes that if a female student does not
get a boyfriend by the time all of the leaves falloff, you won’t get a boyfriend for the next four
years at university. What’s interesting to noticeis that this only applies to heterosexual women.
Sakura legend, in comparison, suggests thatboys who fail to find a girlfriend before the endof sakura season/spring won’t have a lover for ayear. Thus the discrepancy between the consequences illustrates the unfairness of the gingko
legend, as the repercussions are comparatively
dire for women.

2. Ichi-nirou Lake
Commonly known as

一 二 郎 池 (ichi-nirou lake)

Gingko Avenue at University of Tokyo, courtesy of makitani | Flickr.

10

legend, many students believe that visiting thelonesome lake alone will bring dire consequences on the viewer’s academic life. For instance,
university applicant would fail the entrance exam
while current university students would delay
graduation by a year or two. The nickname issaid to be derived from Hongo campus’ veryown 三四郎池 (san-shirou lake) where upperclassman who visit the lake are allegedly cursed tostay an extra year. While its seclusivity offersa serene lunch spot under the luscious trees,
perhaps one should avoid the area, especially iftheir academic life is on stake.

3. The Twin theory
Since the dawn of horror movies, twins have inspired phobias amongst those who already havea fear of the unfamiliar. In Todai, there is a legendthat twins are accepted into university more easily than normal children. This is apparently because the university specifically recruits twins tobecome test subjects for their experiments. According to a graduate, there is a “special twinsonly admission section”, in order to “the workings of a child’s mind while they attempt different
studying styles”. Therefore, the doctor statesthat the reason they choose twins is because “itmakes the experiment more reliable if they use
twins that share similar genes” ( mainabi ). This
story, however, is unlikely to be true as the entrance exam to Todai is done anonymously. Thus,
the likelihood of finding a pair of twins amongst
the sea of test scores suggests that this legend

is merely a rumor.
Given the unreliable nature of these tales, people
continue to spread, believe and even form conspiracy theories based on urban legends. So
why does this happen?
“Urban legends form where common logic
lacks”, suggests a Todai student. “They explain
the inexplicable”. Like many myths and folklores,
people often tell stories as solutions or explanations for phenomena that occur beyond ourunderstanding (eg. ghost stories with simple solutions)
These stories also reflect the socio-cultural
background as they reveal beliefs and fears of
the general public during the time. Examples include the “Sewer Alligator” stories that originatedaround the 1920’s and 30’s, after multiple “sightings” in New York city. The theory is said to haveformed after cases of owners flushing their pet
reptiles down the toilet once it became too big
to handle. Additionally, urban legends owe their
popularity to their mysterious and fun nature;‘word-of-mouth’ nature of most tales makes it
hard to trace the original version, thereby adding
to the fantastical element all great stories posses.
Oral traditions have long been responsible forthe beliefs and traditions we uphold in society.
Whether they are actually true or not, legends
have and will continue to enthrall its listeners
with its claws of mystique.

KOMABA CAMPUS
Little Children in Komaba -From the day nursery-

By Naoki Mizutani

The nursery on Komaba campus. Photo by author.

Have you ever seen the little children patrolling
the Komaba Campus in a cart or toddling led by
the adults? Or, some people might have seen thewooden house unusual for university at the endof the campus around the gymnasium. This is
the day nursery in Komaba Campus. I conducted
an interview with Ms. Ikemi, the director of thenursery. Here is what students should know
about the nursery in Komaba.
There are a number of day nurseries in UTokyo,
however, the characteristic of “Todai-Komabachiku-Hoikujo” (the official name for the nursery
meaning Nursery for the Todai Komaba District,hereinafter referred to as Komaba nursery) isthat nursery child’s parents are composed of not
only the staff or students of the university, butalso people living near Komaba campus. The
reason of this situation lies in the form of nursery.
Komaba nursery is an unauthorized nursery. An
unauthorized nursery is not authorized by thegovernment because the nursery is not satisfying the official requirements for establishing anursery. However, it is often difficult for nurseries in Tokyo to satisfy the needs of dual-income
families, which hope to leave their children in theconvenient nursery for a long time. Therefore,
Tokyo Metropolitan Government made a nurseryroom system to support the unauthorized. Since
2001, the administration established the unique
certification system and subsidize nurseries inTokyo. When Komaba nursery made an application for the subsidy, the authority made it a condition that nursery should include children fromboth the university and local residents.

comprised children from an infant to preschooler.
At the age of 4 to 5, children in Komaba nurseryclimb Mt. Takao (599 meters above the sea), andchildren at preschool age experience harvest of
rice in Sakae village in Nagano Prefecture. According to Ms. Ikemi, it is a good work off forrestless children to play hard in nature.

Komaba nursery was established in 1971, andwas maintained mainly by the Faculty and Staff
Association of UTokyo, not by the university.
From 2003 to the present, a NPO corporation
called “Todai Komaba Nursery Association” havemanaged the nursery. Komaba nursery is one of
the institution of Office for Gender Equality, The
University of Tokyo, and borrows a small property from the university. Ms. Ikemi says nature ofMusashino (the old name for Western Tokyo) is
well preserved in Komaba Campus, so the Campus is the favorite walking course for children.

About the advantage of nursery, Ms. Ikemi said
“Unlike the kindergarten, day nursery is comprised of children from babies to preschoolers,
and the relation of older and younger children
arise. The older children help the younger onesin the nursery. Babies learn from the old children
and when they grow up, they help the juniors as
their seniors do. On the other hand, the older
children feel relaxed touching the hands of babies. Occasionally, quarrel among children happens, however, a relationship of deep trust arise
as they spend time in the same nursery for along time.”

The nursing policy of Komaba nursery is simple
and somehow primitive, unlike other nurseries
and kindergartens which give children special
education. Komaba nursery thinks it is importantfor children to play by all their might with water,
sand, and mud, eat natural delicious food, andcome into contact with nature. The nursery is

For us, how we spend our early age is an important matter for the cultivation of our character.
Precisely for the reason that Japan has fewer
and fewer children, reconsidering what preschool
education should be is a significant question.

11

Komaba Shopping Street

By Abhishek Gupta

While going down the street from McDonalds all
the way to the supermarket My Basket, one will
come across many old shops and remains ofshops which were closed recently or long timeago. While I used to think was that the declineof Komaba shopping street was directly related
to the abolishment of the Komaba dormitory on
campus, I realized that there are many more reasons to the notable decrease in the number ofshops around Komaba campus.
Some of the major reasons for the decline of thestreet are the age of the owner and the abolishment of the Komaba dormitory. As most of the
shops on the street were or are more than 20 years
old. “If people are hungry, they will find something to eat, and life goes on,” said the owner of
MokMok bento shop which has closed now. She
also added that, “Nowadays there are new shops
in this area, they have a new bento service on
campus, too. So it’s probably time for us to take abreak.” As most of the owners and the workers aregoing into their 60s and 70s, it is hard for them towork long hours like they used to.
Yamate Ramen shop is not on this street, but isconsidered part of the Komaba shopping com-munity as it is just behind the campus. Yamate
Ramen shop is 25 years old and has seen many
ups and downs, but the abolishment of the dormitory was one of the toughest time according tothe owner. “The dormitory had around 400 people so it was the major source of customer forthe ramen shop. Also most of the part time workers were students living in the dormitory,” said
the Yamate ramen owner. He added, “So when
the dorm was abolished, our shop was affected,
too, since there was a significant decrease in
the number of potential customers.” “The bestthing about the shop is that it is just behind theuniversity so it is really easy for us to have parttime workers, as the students always drop by toapplying for a part-time job.”
There were many similarities as well as differences between the MokMok and Yamate Ramen.
The similarities were mainly because the shops
were very near to the university and catered tothe university community. Nowadays there aremany new shops which are more preferred over
the old ones as these shops are more modern.
This can be seen as McDonald is the favourite
eating destination as many students prefer going
there instead of other shops. Says the owner of

Entrance of Yamate Ramen shop (bottom) and MokMok bento
shop (now closed).

MokMok, “it’s time to move on and have a rest,and let others work hard just as we have been
doing over the past 20-30 years.”

A Food Review of the Cafeteria’s Most Popular Dishes

By Marina Kondo

As the cherry blossoms begin to bloom, a newschool semester begins. At the Komaba Campusof the University of Tokyo, students crowd thecampus, classrooms, Communication Plaza, andmost of all, the school cafeteria. As the clock
hits 12, the “shokudo”, as the school cafeteria
is more commonly known as, begins to overflow
with students forming queues to buy dishes froma variety of stations: noodles, bowls/curry, cafeteria, cold case, hot case, and the salad bar. For
both newcomers and returnee students, choosing the right meal to eat for lunch or dinner canbe one of the most important and overwhelming
decisions of the day.
To provide some help (and also as part of mypersonal interest), I’ve interviewed the Coop, thecompany that runs the first floor cafeteria, about
their most popular* dishes, and decided to taste
each dish myself.
*Based on sales
Here are the results:

1. Chicken Oroshi-Dare (Read da-ray)

Price: 300 yen
Calories: 353kcal
Comments: As simple as this dish may be, containing just French fries and boneless chickenwith oroshi-dare, a soy sauce and grated Japanese radish based sauce, it kept me wanting
more even after I was finished. At first, I was
taken aback by the skin sitting on top of chicken,
as I’m usually not a fan of chicken with skin,
but the texture of both the skin and the chicken
was a delightful surprise. The oroshi-dare sauce
worked very well with the chicken, with onlya hint of the Japanese radish flavor. The odd
combination of French fries and oroshi-dare also
worked surprisingly well – although it did leave
my fries a bit soggy. The dish probably works
best with a side of white rice and a cup of warm
miso-soup.
Where to find it: Cafeteria station
Recommendation: I can definitely see why thiswould be a favorite! ★★★★☆

12

2. Uma-kara Tofu

Price: 130 yen
Calories: 123kcal
Comments: At first, I was quite hesitant to try
this dish since I have never liked tofu or bean
sprouts, but this dish absolutely blew me away.
The sauce made from spicy red chili peppers isthe true winner that brilliantly flavors the tofu,
bean sprouts, and shredded steamed chicken
breast. But don’t be fooled by the intense color –the sauce isn’t as spicy as it looks. The spicinessis complimented by a tang of sweetness and themellowness of the tofu. Every element of thisdish works so well with each other, but I reallyhave no doubt that this sauce could make justabout anything taste a million times better!
Where to find it: Cold case section
Recommendation: ★★★★★

KOMABA CAMPUS

Photo: Xuan Truong Trinh.

At the Hongo Campus. Photo: Erika Nakayama.

All photos by author.

3. Kara-miso Ramen

Price: 360 yen
Calories: 791kcal
Comments: Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to try
this dish myself because it was sold out when I
went, but it’s definitely on my must-try list. According to the Coop, the kara-miso ramen may
look extra spicy but the broth isn’t as bad as it
looks! Even if you aren’t too fond of spicy dishes,
it may be worth a try!
Where to find it: Noodles station
Recommendation: N/A

4. Curry RicePrice: Ranges from 190 yen ~ 300 yen depending on the size
Calories: 585kcal
Comments: In Japan, the taste and ingredientsof curry rice, a popular comfort food for many,
usually varies depending on the household andrestaurant. The curry rice at the cafeteria lacks
uniqueness, but has the best cost-performance.
The curry includes a few vegetables, probably
carrots and potatoes, and comes with a side ofrice. The flavor of the curry is quite standard, but
you oddly never get tired of it. For an extra 160
yen to 170 yen, you can add a tonkatsu or pork
cutlet.
Where to find it: Bowl/Curry station
Recommendation: A great go-to dish that keeps
both your wallet and stomach happy! ★★★☆☆

5. Buta-miso Yakiniku-donPrice: Ranges from 320 yen ~ 460 yen depending on size
Calories: 764kcal
Comments: Another delightful surprise! Thisbowl, consisting of rice, onions, pork, and scallions really does an amazing job of filling you up.
The miso flavor is not in any way overpowering
as I had imagined it would be (which is definitely
a good thing!), but you may become a bit boredof the flavor towards the end. (If that happens,
I personally recommend pouring the leftoversauce from the uma-kara tofu to add a spicy
twist.) The pork and onions seemed a tad bit oily,
but the dish will definitely keep you satisfied until
dinnertime.
Where to find it: Bowls station
Recommendation: ★★★☆☆

13

PERSPECTIVES
Discussing the Female Gender in Japan

By RongXuan Tan

Fly with beautiful girls from Todai! This promotional campaign by travel agency H.I.S inwhich rich travellers are offered a chance to beaccompanied by a beautiful Todai girl on theplane came under fire recently1. Such blatant
objectification of women gratifyingly received
widespread criticism from the public, but looking
deeper, we realise that the girls participating inthis campaign also appear in pictorial books ofbeautiful Todai girls released and sold by a Todai
circle known as Todai Bijo Zukan, not only forinternal consumption but for the public as well. It
is said that they do so to show that Todai female
students are not simply bookworms, but thequestion then is what is wrong with just being
scholars and why is there a need to show thatfemale Todai students can be beautiful as well?
This is just one manifestation of a larger problem
in Japanese society: restrictive social norms regarding women and femininity which have been
impressed upon girls since their youths and how
most of the public ascribe to them, giving rise
to a patriarchal and chauvinistic society, andchoices made by Japanese women may just bea reflection of social norms.
It will come as no surprise for many to knowthat the University of Tokyo’s ratio of male tofemale students is heavily skewed, with thefemale population comprising less than 20%of the entire student population2. In contrast,
the PEAK program has an almost 50-50 ratioof male and female students. Most prestigious

universities worldwide have roughly the same
number of students of each gender. Why then,is the gender ratio so imbalanced in Todai? Are
Japanese women just not as intelligent as Japanese men and are thus unable to gain admission
into Japan’s most prestigious university? Or is it
simply the female high school students’ choice
not to come to Todai? And if so, how much ofthat choice is really a choice and free from social
construct?
A second year Todai female student explains thateven she herself debated whether to come to Todai or attend a local women’s university. Female
Todai students are said to have poorer dating
and marriage prospects as many Japanese men
do not like women who are as or more accomplished than they are, and the alternative optionof becoming a housewife - the “ideal job” forwomen propagated by Japanese society - andnot working makes coming to a top university
unnecessary. These reasons turn Japanese girls
away from applying to Todai in the first place.
Looking at the wider Japanese society as awhole, restrictions on women’s civil liberties havebeen eliminated since the end of World War II.
In this society, women are theoretically free topursue their dreams. However, gender equality
in Japan still lags far behind. According to the2015 study by the World Economic Forum, Japan remains near the bottom of the gender gap
ranking with one of the worst gender equality inthe developed world, coming in 101 out of 142

What do you want to be?
Career Women (19)
33%

41%

Full-time housewife(15)
Housewife with
part-time job (24)26%

Survey of 58 female students on what they prefer of the 3 options given

1
H.I.S. ‘fly with girls of Todai’ campaign crashes
as travel agency assailed. (2016). The Japan
Times. Retrieved from http://www.japantimes.
co.jp/news/2016/05/12/national/h-i-s-fly-withgirls-of-todai-campaign-crashes-as-travelagency-assailed/#.VziYtpF96hd
2
Enrollment. (2015). Retrieved May 1, 2016, fromhttp://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/about/enrollment.
html

14

3

Gender Gap Report 2015: Japan. (2015). World
Economic Forum. Retrieved from http://www3.
weforum.org/docs/GGGR2015/JPN.pdf

4
Japanese women and work: Holding backhalf the nation. (2014). The Economist. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/news/
briefing/21599763-womens-lowly-status-japanese-workplace-has-barely-improved-decadesand-country

countries, even below less developed countries
like Kenya and Bangladesh3. Female participation in the labour force in Japan is 63%, far lower
than in other affluent countries. When women
have their first child, 70% of them stop working
for a decade or more, compared with just 30%
in America; most of them do not return to theworkforce4. Instead, they become housewives,
looking after the house, taking on child-care duties and attending to elderly parents. One mightargue that women have the freedom to choose
for themselves whether or not to become career
women or housewives or anything else, but similarly, how much does societal pressure influencethese decisions or even restrict them?
Why then, do Japanese women not rise against
such societal norms and pressures and overcome their subordination to men? One of theanswers put forth by french philosopher Simone
De Beauvoir is that women are unwilling to giveup all the advantages this subordination brings.
In exchange for their subordination, men provide women with protection, allowing them toavoid the risks of having to achieve things ontheir own. In other words, women are not simply
oppressed by a patriarchal society but have anagency in their role as the submissive gender.
It seems that this applies to Japanese womenas well. When the choice is between sanshoku
hirune tsuki (“three meals and a nap”) and the
difficult life of an employee, it seems that it is no
choice at all. A fourth year female Todai student
who was interviewed said that she hopes to become a professional high flyer and indeed havealready secured a job in a multinational Corporation, but she is the minority. The majority of female Todai students I surveyed would rather become a full-time housewife or a housewife witha part-time job. In Japan, it is not simply a caseof chauvinistic men forcing women into a life of
marriage and child-rearing; instead, women arechoosing that lifestyle.
Shifting the focus back to Todai, it is an open
secret that several circles restrict Todai female
students from joining. What is more shocking isthat some of these circles allow girls from otheruniversities to join, just not those from Todai
itself. While this kind of conduct is discouraged
and has prompted the Executive Vice Presidentof Todai to issue a circular commenting on it 5,
it is still largely accepted without question. The
problem with the circles reflect a society thatis still deeply patriarchal and chauvinistic, andwhat seems to be self-determination on the partof women may be nothing but an expression ofsocietal standards that have been ingrained.

5
Comment on the Activities of Student Groups(2015). Retrieved from http://www.c.u-tokyo.
ac.jp/eng_site/zenki/news/kyoumu/2015/%28En
g%29gakuseishuchi.pdf

Tale of Being Famous

By Abhishek Gupta

My picture on The Asahi Shimbun (Courtesy of The Asahi Shimbun. This photo and the related article were published on December 12th, 2015.)

The tale begins with my acceptance by UTokyo
for their PEAK program as an undergraduate student. It was the most unexpected part of my life
because I was just aiming for the star but definitely landed on the sun. After my acceptance to
PEAK my life has became a rollercoaster ride as
my laughing face was on almost every national
daily in India. The next stage of unexpected happiness was to know that international media,
such as Daily Mail and New York Times reprinted
my story.
Things happened so fast that just in a day mostIndians knew that Abhishek Gupta was selectedby UTokyo on full scholarship. The main reasonof this fame was I being a part of the prestigious
program in India called ‘Super 30’. Super 30
gives special training to 30 talented students selected from all over India to pass the Indian Institute of Technology entrance exam. The founderof Super 30, Mr. Anand Kumar, has always been
headline news for the media so being his firststudent from Super 30 to be selected by UTokyo

was just like icing on the cake for Super 30.

UTokyo student.

All my relatives were impatient to meet and congratulate me for this massive achievement asthey were unaware about this acceptance andthey were informed by my article in the regional
newspaper. During that period my family was
also interviewed which made me so happy because I was able to make my parents proud. So
after all these events took place, all my friends
and Super 30 staff started calling me “Japani
Babu,” which means “Indo-Japanese person.”

When I went back to India for vacations I was
giving appointment to people so that they canmeet me and present my story as an inspiration for their children. My story was inspirational
for many students because I didn’t have goodeducation background as my father had been
educated only till tenth standard, also my motherhas been educated till high school. So, this is an
extraordinary achievement for an Indian student
like me.

After I came to Japan the legacy of giving interviews continued and in mid-December again
my laughing face was on the front page of Asahi
Shimbun which made me more popular this time
among Japanese people. In class the professor posted a copy of the Asahi Shimbun article
about me on the white board which was the bestexperience of my life as I became the star during
the whole session. Recently I met an Indian student in Sendai who knew me as the newspaper

The hardest part of this fame is when you talk to
your friends and then they start abusing you by
their harsh word for not talking to them very frequently. But there’s also a bright part of this fame
when you get to know that your friends boast
about having a friend in UTokyo. Recently while
talking to a friend she told me how she boast
about having a friend on the front page of prestigious newspaper in Japan and getting attention
which for me were heart touching words.

15

And Then There Were None: TV as a Graveyard for Queer Women

By Angeli Rambukpota

artist sister (Sonya Walger), who
she was involved with as well.
The list of dead queer charactersin TV has reached 156 and counting.
“You always need drama”, saida student from the University of
Sheffield, “and death is a common way of creating that shockfactor”. As a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the university student
explains how Tara’s death allowed for Willow’s villainous story
arch to take place along withfurthering the plot for the straightmain characters. “So as supporting characters, queer women arealways killed off to ‘support’ anddeepen the plotline of the main
character.
After years of watching fictional
women die in trivial manners,
real-life women have started fundraisers and campaigns to promote awareness for the lesbian
death trope. Movements such as
LGBT Fans Deserve Better raised$125,000 for LGBT suicide prevention and mental health organisation The Trevor Project, whilemore writers are beginning toinstill the Lexa Pledge in attempts
to reconcile and learn from thedamages of The 100’s major
character death.

body Can Die trope, but in ‘normal’ shows where
death plays a minor role.

The overwhelming amount ofresponses online has also forced
major entertainment websites
to report on the issues of queer
women and representation inmedia, which has allowed for the
topic to become an issue that can no longer beignored by society itself.

According to LGBT pop-culture site Autostraddle, only 11% of the 18,000+ characters on TV
are lesbian or bisexual, and of those characters,
65% are killed off and only 11% have an happy
ending. In 2016 alone, 10 queer-identifying women have already been killed off on shows such as
CW’s Jane the Virgin, The Vampire Diaries, ABC’s
The Catch, and many more - in less than half ofthe year.

Stories have, and continue to, shape a fundamental part of human nature. Borrowing thewords of the late great actor Alan Rickman, “stories are an ancient need“ - a means to identify
and understand ourselves. As minorities, queer
women are rarely represented in TV, and in therare chances they play a supporting or leadingrole, they are either killed off or punished for accepting their sexuality.

Queer women in TV often die after a happy event.
In many cases, it’s after they consummate theirrelationship with their implied love interest. In
Jason Rothenberg’s The 100, Lexa is shot bya stray bullet meant for her lover a mere scene
after they sleep together for the first time. In Joss
Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Tara (Amber
Benson) is again shot by a stray bullet shortly
after being shown in bed with her on-off girlfriend
Willow (Alyson Hannigan). And in Allan Heinberg’s
The Catch, Felicity is killed again with a bullet this time intended for her - by a man she slept
with after betraying information about his con-What happens in fiction doesn’t stay in a fictional
universe but rather, has repercussions in reality. It’s no coincidence that same-sex marriage
became more accepted as more TV shows portrayed loving and healthy LGBT relationships. So
when TV continues to massacre queer women,
what does that say about society’s message toLGBT people?

Roy Lichtenstein, Crying Girl, 1964. Enamel on steel (1923-1997), Milwaukee Art Museum. (Courtesy of rocor | Flickr)

Queer hearts alike were broken everywhere whena stray bullet pierced the abdomen of Commander Lexa (Alycia Debnam-Carey) of popular
sci-fi drama The 100 early March, leaving a trailof tears and anger in its wake. While the death
was sad, it did what any TV show does: killed off
a main character. And yet this particular death
was met with a frenzy of angry emails and letters to the writers of the show, and many took to
Twitter and other forms of social media to venttheir frustrations as well.
So what made this death so special? This answer lies behind the increasingly popular tv
trope: Bury Your Gays.
Bury Your Gays is a tv trope formed after countless lesbian or bisexual-identified women havebeen killed off on TV, usually following a happy
event. While characters often die in fiction, it’s
important to note the difference from Anyone
Can Die tropes in which death is part of the norm(eg. Soap operas, Game of Thrones), as audiences are more familiar with the fatal nature of
the show. Queer mortality therefore presents anissue in shows that are not a part of the Any-

16

As the university student suggests,”It’s ok to begay, as long as you realise that life will be inevitably harder for you as a queer person. You should
also probably invest in a bulletproof vest”.

PERSPECTIVES
Pressure on Todai Joshi

By Yuya Nagata

On May 11th, 2016, H.I.S., a Japanese major
travel agency, canceled a campaign which would
provide to overseas-bound travellers a chance
to fly with girls from Todai bijo zukan, a collectionof beautiful girls at the University of Tokyo. This
controversial campaign was that five female students of the University of Tokyo belonging to Todai bijo zukan would sit next to customers during
the flight and talk to them. This campaign said
that the customers could enjoy “witty and intelligent conversations” for example about architecures and history of the destination with thesebeautiful female students at Todai. The main reasons why this campaign invited strong criticism
were are that the content of this campaign was
vulgar and might lead to sexual harassment, orthat femininity was used as commodity.
However, are these reasons really right? Maybe
feeling that this campaign is sexual harassment
or vulgar is based on assumptions that the customers would be men but this campaign is not
limited to male customers and this logic leads
to that thought that jobs such as bar hostesses
are also vulgar or not decent jobs. It is a fact thatfemininity is used as commodity but there aresome jobs which use masculinity or femininity as
commodity like idols. I think this scandal resulted
from biased images of “Todai-joshi“ in Japanesesociety. So I would like to consider the meaning
the word “Todai-joshi” has in Japanese society.
“Todai”, the University of Tokyo is probably themost famous Japanese national university inJapan. The University of Tokyo is generally considered the top university in Japan and produces
a lot of famous politicians, bureaucrats, scholars,
and so on. So many people have stereotypes
such as “elite”or “smart” to the students of theuniversity of Tokyo. I think that publicity of the
University of Tokyo and existing biased image tothe students of Todai made this campaign controversial. If other college students had participated in this campaign, it might not have beensuch a big problem.
Another point is that this campaign put emphasis
on “joshi”(girls), precisely “bijo”(beautiful girls).
Using the word “bijo” made a strong impression of femininity and beauty good-lookingness.

Moreover, limiting participants to girls made people assume that they would sit next to male customers, so many people felt that this campaign
was sexual harassment. However, customers
were not limited to men and there is no reason
that they claim that this is sexual harassment because receiving cutomers is not vulgar thing evenif customers are men. Moreover, this campaign
assumed family customers for exmple there wasan advertisement of this campaign that says oneof the students would help customers’ summer
homework. I think a part of people connectedemphasis of femininity and good-lookingess
appearance of the students with sexual harassment.
From two points I mentioned above, the word
“Todai-Bijo” has a meaning that the girls are theUniversity of Ttokyo students but pretty or beautiful to many Japanese people. The stereotypes
and biases images of “Todai” and “girls” madethis campaign a big problem. Todai-joshi havedifficulties between the two words in Japanesesociety.

From ABC to あいうえお

By Kyle Smith

Let me preface this by saying I am awful at
Japanese. I’m the guy who doesn’t know what
he doesn’t know in a conversation, and just says
hai and hopes it moves the conversation along.
I’m the guy who spends 5 minutes looking up
a kanji character he’s used for over 3 years. I
studied four years in high school before entering
Japan and PEAK, so I thought my Japanese ability must have been hot stuff. “Yeah, sometimes
I turn away from my subtitled anime and I still
understand what’s being said, I’ve pretty much
mastered this language”. Turns out high school
isn’t the most intensive environment and watching mameshiba cartoons and Miyazaki movies
doesn’t quite equate to hitting the books.
In the PEAK program, all students are required totake intensive Japanese courses their first year.
These courses do it right-- essays, speeches,presentations, the need for flash cards andnotebooks of the same character scrawled out
a thousand times over. I learned more in one
semester of intensive Japanese than I did in four
years of high school. I want to continue learning
Japanese, but now that my time in intensive Japanese has ended, it’s hard to find motivation to
study. So, I’ve started to branch out, or at least
broaden my definition of “study,” to find ways to
use and improve my Japanese skills.
It is extremely useful to simply hear Japanese
being spoken. For this reason, subtitled TV andmovies are very useful. There are two ways ofwatching: actively and inactively. Inactive viewing is the non-Japanese learner’s case of simply
reading subtitles and watching what’s on screen.
Active viewing is where the viewer attempts tosimultaneously listen to Japanese dialogue andread translated subtitles. By doing this every
line of dialogue can be treated like some algebraic equation waiting to be solved. “I know thismeans this, but what did that word mean? Orthat grammar form?” This is where the active
viewer uses the context of what they can understand in Japanese, and identifies and fills in theblank with knowledge gained from subtitles.
As far as reading goes, my personal demon iskanji (chinese characters)-- if a kanji is unknown,
there’s no way to understand without help. I acknowledge the value of sitting down and practicing writing kanji, but I’m not disciplined enoughto find time for it. This is where my personalhero, furigana, swoops in and shines a phonetic
alphabetical light upon the dark forces that are
kanji. Mixing study with play, I think reading
manga and playing video games in Japanese
can be helpful. Most manga will have furigana toshow the pronunciation of kanji, and being comics they have pictures to help give context. Most
kids games like Pokemon will have furigana or
no kanji in the first place, so if others games are
too difficult I recommend trying them. These mediums are similar to anime where new Japaneseskills can be gained by reading context, but if
you prefer gaming or reading over watching, andmaybe want to chip away at their mountain of
unknown kanji, you should give these mediums atry.
The best method I’ve found is actually, believe it
or not, talking to people! Whether it is in personor online, talking to others will present you witha wide variety of topics to talk about, and friends

Those new to the study of Japanese might find themselves studying
in a kanji workbook like this one (Courtesy Jackson Boyle | Flickr)

can adapt their language to your skill level. It’s
good to have common interests to talk about, so
joining circles with others with similar interests
can help you build conversational skills aroundyour interests. Reading and writing (at least typing) skills can then be honed by keeping in touchover messaging services like LINE. Messaging can also be practiced through online video
games, and apparently Japanese Tinder is full of
those seeking language exchange.
For new and old Japanese speakers alike, I thinkit’s important to find what works for you. Find
ways to not even necessarily study, but expose
yourself to the language in ways interesting toyou. Whether it’s staring at characters in a textbook or characters in a book or on a screen, exposure is exposure. When we all learned our first
language, it was new and exciting, and definitely
not done through a textbook.

17

Brexit: What Youths Should Take Away from This

By RongXuan Tan

Voting (Courtesy of Justin Grimes | Flickr)

Remain or Leave? After months of campaigning,market fluctuation as pre-referendum polls togauge voting intentions were conducted, a nation
getting more divided, and a tragic death, the dayof the referendum dawned on 23rd June. The
British went to the polls, and Vote Leave won
with a slight majority of 51.9%. This article is not
to expound on the pros and cons of the United
Kingdom remaining in or leaving the European
Union (EU), but to raise the importance of youths- who are known to be politically apathetic - exercising their right to vote.
Immediately after the referendum result was set
in the stone, British youths took to social media
to express their anger and disappointment at
the outcome. Sixteen and seventeen year olds
also protested over the fact that they were notallowed to vote and had no say in this decisionthat would affect the rest of their lives. Many
young people are calling Brexit a betrayal by theolder generations who have less to lose and will
not have to live with the consequences of leaving the EU for as long a time. Young people were
overwhelmingly in favour of remaining in the EU,with 75% of young people voting to remain in
the referendum. However, they failed to turn up
to vote in sufficient numbers; only an estimated
36% of 18-24 year olds voted. The poor showing
among the youths allowed the older generation the majority of whom supported Brexit - to seal
their fate.

18

One lesson to take away from this for youths
all over the world is that through our vote, wehave a political voice, and this vote is something
we should not waste and should instead wield
actively when the time comes. We should not naively believe that everyone else will vote and thefinal outcome would be what we have hoped for,and thus there is no need to vote or that we canvote irresponsibly, nor should we be politicallyapathetic. Regardless of whether it is a referendum or an election, all this will affect your country and by default you. Being engaged in politics
through a simple act of voting can help to ensurethat the outcome and its consequences is something you have chosen for yourself and would be
best for you - or even something that you have
tried your best to avert - rather than having tobear the brunt of a decision made by someone
else and regretting not having voted in the firstplace.
In Japan, the House of Councillors elections
are round the corner, and the voting age has
been reduced from 20 to 18 years old. Two anda half million 18 and 19 year-olds can now votefor the upcoming elections, which is especially
important as a national referendum to amend
Article 9 of the Constitution can be called if theruling LDP-Komeito coalition secure a two-thirds
majority. However, how many of these new voters - and young people in general - will exercise
their right to vote? Japan’s young voters are notparticularly active, with less than 33% of those in

their 20s voting in the 2014 general election. In
contrast, voter turnout for those in their 60s andover 70s were 68% and 60% respectively. The
low turnout rate among young Japanese voters
have led political parties to focus on older voters,
but this is hardly beneficial to Japanese society
as a whole. With political parties courting elderly
voters with generous pension and other welfare
benefits, Japan’s national debt has ballooned
as the country ages, and this debt is something
young voters will have to shoulder in the future.
A Japanese friend I spoke to recently said he will
not vote as he does not know enough to makean informed decision, and a recent NHK survey
echoed similar sentiments among new voters.
I say do your research, that’s what Google isthere for! Keep up with the news, look up party
manifestos and what each party stands for, thinkcritically to determine if the promises made arefeasible - unlike in Brexit where people were
lured by false promises - and ultimately decide
which is the best choice. And in the absence of achoice you will willingly put your all behind, employ the minimax strategy and vote to avoid theworst outcome.
Our forefathers fought long and hard for democracy and for “one person, one vote”. We, theyouths, who will bear the brunt of any negative
repercussions and who will be the ones at thehelm in the future, should not let our right to votego to waste.

PERSPECTIVESGlobal Warming: Global warning to all

By Hye June Seo

T-shirts, short pants, ice cream, water parks…
summer is coming. The scorching season isagain without doubt on its way to us. Whenever it’s summer, we unconsciously look out for
clothes that expose more of our skin, or go into
stores with strong air conditioning. According
to NASA’s global temperature data, 2015 was
the hottest year ever and it’s likely that 2016 will
be replaced as the hottest year on record. Apparently, weather extremes are not a surprise
anymore. I’m sure everyone knows the answer tothe question, ‘What’s going on?’ A warning often
disregarded, global warming is getting closer tous accompanying more extreme storms or wild
fires, melting sea ice, coral bleaching, and aplenty of other disasters.
I remember my first group project that I did in my
2nd year in elementary school. Our group was
assigned a task to search about the polar bearand its relation to global warming. Until then, I
hardly knew about polar bears and global warming. Thanks to the school project, I managed toknow that the climate change is destroying ice
on the Arctic Ocean and it is humans that are
killing these cute bears. Even though this project
was more than 10 years ago, I can still remem-

Tired-lone polar bear on melted iceberg (Courtesy of
Smudge 9000 | Flickr)

ber it vividly because it was such a shock to an
8 year old. However, the circumstance has only
gotten worse, and with the advanced camera
technologies, more vivid and live photos aretaken now, some caputuring the harsh life moments. I felt helpless that there was nothing I did
for them.
Polar bears may have been one of the first symbolic victims of global warming. However, plants
and foods are also in danger. For example, everyone’s sweet remedy “chocolate” is also on thethreatened food list. In four decades, the amountof land available for growing cocoa has dropped
40%. In the next 35 years, the temperature in

Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, where 70% of cocoa isgrown, is set to rise by 2 degrees Celsius, which
will be too dry for cocoa. Plus, the world’s superfruit avocado is at risk, too. Scientists from theLawrence Livermore National Laboratory predict
as much as a 40 percent decrease in avocado
production over the next 30 years due to increasing temperatures brought on by climate change.
Coffee, beer, beans, wine, apple are no exception either. It’s sad, but it’s the truth. We have to
do something to stop, or being realistic, slower
the process.
Amazingly, The University of Tokyo built a ecofacility in Komaba campus called 21 KOMCEE
West. As the target facility of the 「Next Generation Energy-Saving Architecture System Verification Project」launched by New Energy andIndustrial Technology Development Organization(NEDO), they have introduced an undergroundwater circulating cooling-heating system, radiation panel system, photovoltaic power system andartificial intelligence energy managing system, andalso with the cooperation of the The University ofTokyo’s research institue of technology production, the building is playing its role contributing to
the zero emisson of carbon dioxide.

「 TEDxUTokyo 〜奇跡待つ静寂〜」 (Quietness awaits miracle). Photo by Chia Yabui.

19

EXPLORING JAPAN
Shingeki no Gaijin: “Fitting In” to JapanBy Kyle Smith

Before leaving my home in the United States forJapan, my father gave me a piece of advice: “Makesure you don’t knock down any power lines”.
Measuring at 193 centimeters, it’s only natural I
find myself at the butt end of such jokes better
suited for someone like Godzilla. When considering average heights for men in America and Japan, which are 176 and 170 centimeters respectively, the difference may not seem like much. But
when one country has a history of diverse bodytypes and one does not, major differences canbe seen. It’s impossible to separate the norms ofJapanese body image from Japan and its culture,and the relation is seen especially in architecture,
fashion, and even social interactions.
Admittedly being tall has some perks. Whenriding Japanese trains, I find myself in my own
private atmosphere above the commotion of
any hot, crowded car. Another advantage is abird’s eye view over any otherwise overwhelming
crowd like those in Shibuya crossing. Such advantages are short lived and seem to disappear
should I decide to quite literally duck into a store.

A head above everyone else

My presence at some of the more compact
restaurants in Japan have been described as
looking like a college student volunteering at anelementary school and having to sit at one of thechildren’s desks.
Within the halls of the aged Komaba Lodge B
are where I count my blessing for not being any
taller; the many low thresholds in this university
dorm give me good reason to never test how
much spring I can put in my step. More discomfort can be experienced in the lodge’s kitchensand bathrooms, where many a time I’ve stood up
too quickly from tasting a dish and hit my headon the stove’s vent hood or brushed my hairon the ceiling of a bathroom stall. On the brightside, every morning I get a leg workout by lowering myself below the showerhead.
Needless to say clothes shopping is difficult.
I’m lucky to have a relatively short torso, so everything waist-up is fair game for me in Japan.
That relative shortness, however, just makes mylegs an even bigger problem. Finding jeans mysize in America was already tough, so in Japan
it would seem even more difficult. Luckily, storeslike Uniqlo which offer tailoring services carrypants with oversized inseams for their waist
so they may be hemmed down to a shorter fit.
Lucky for me said exaggerated inseam is just my
size! Shoes are another story. So far I have foundthree pairs of shoes in my size of 31 centimetersin Tokyo, two of which are basketball shoes. Just
my luck the one thing I need to bring to Japantakes up the most space.
Much like the clothing I buy or the accommoda-

tive architecture I appreciate, I am an outlier inJapan. It’s hard to separate the social struggles
from those of a tall person and those of a nonJapanese person (in my case caucasian). The
first social effect of height is the exacerbation ofgaijin (foreigner) treatment. If someone was goingto assume I’m a tourist who doesn’t speak any
Japanese before seeing I’m a head and shoulder
above the person next to me, they would after.
It would also be lovely to have a conversationthat doesn’t start with and revolve around “Howmany centimeters are you?”.
Second is staring. Since I can see above everyone in a crowd, everyone in the crowd can see
me, too. People are very considerate and try not
to, but after a while I’ve noticed I attract and holdpeople’s attention more than any of my friends.
Last is something that I’m sure many tall people
feel, but is very apparent in Japan: I take up
space. I feel guilty standing in front of people ata performance or expo, sitting on the train andhaving my legs jut out, or being the last to get ona crowded train or elevator elevator. Elevators are
my favorite trifecta -- I can bump my head, getstared at, and take up too much space in one go!
Despite some child-sized environments, shopping troubles and awkward moments, I think
Japan has treated me well. Being tall in Japanis not much different from being tall anywhere
else, just a bit more extraordinary. It makes forsome fun stories, some advantages, and somedisadvantages, but in the end it’s another formof physical diversity that hasn’t been explored
too much yet. And to some, in Japan especially,
diversity has been a foreign concept.

Be careful of “Shigatsu-byo” and “Gogatsu-byo” in spring!

By Yuya Nagata

Spring is a beautiful season. It gets warm andyou can enjoy seeing beautiful flowers like cherry
blossom. But there is also sickness for especiallycollege students that they must be careful of inspring. That is “Shigatsu-byo” and “Gogatsu-byo”.
“Shigatsu-byo” means April sickness. It is not
an official illness but Japanese college students
usually use this word as slang. The symptoms
are you feel too highly motivated and tend totry something too eagerly. For example, a college student with April sickness will want to takemany courses or make too many plans which
he usually won’t be able to follow up on. April
sickness is a little similar to being Manic. April
sickness may be based on Japanese annual
customs in this season. April is considered thestart of new life to many Japanese people withentrance ceremonies, start of new semester orcompany entrance ceremonies. So many people,
especially freshmen have big expectations orhigh motivations for the new stage of their lives.
April sickness often results in May sickness
called “Gogatsu Byo.” This sickness is widely
known but is not an official name. The symptomof May sickness is similar to that of depression.

20

If you get May sickness, you cannot keep highmotivation or sleep well and feel weary. For
example, a college student who was highly motivated and registered for many courses in April
may gradually find the workload to be a burden
and may not feel motivated to study hard.
The main reason why many students get May
sickness is that they cannot adapt to the newenvironment and feel stress or tired and accumulate frustration or fatigue not only physically but
also mentally. Moreover, the motivation of most
students often gradually decreases from April to
May but they have to continue their tasks or plan
which they committed to in April. May sickness
tends to develop from the second week of May.
This is related to the holidays in Japan. There are
four public holidays from the end of April to thestart of May, so most college students do not go
to college. After this short break, some students
cannot revert back to the academic life and develop May sickness.
As you see, these two sicknesses are partly connected to Japanese custom. It may make these
two seasonal symptoms interesting. However,people with May sickness may suffer from thatsickness for a long time and have trouble recovering from it. In order to prevent from getting
April sickness or May sickness, there are several
ways. It is important not to impose excessive
burden or stress on yourself. You need to communicate with other people, sleep well and understand how much work you can do in the longterm before committing to everything.

A depressed person. (Copyright Irasutoya)Hello, Kitty: A Look into Cat Culture in the Digital Age

By Angeli Rambukpota

Cats are predicted to surpass dogs as the country’s No.1 household pet, according to a recent
study conducted by the Japan Pet Food Association.
That’s right, surpass dogs; the longtime bestfriend of mankind. Just last October, cat ownership in Japan has reached 9.87million and isbelieved to surpass the number of dog owners,
which has staggered at 11.5 million. As a proud
dog owner of three years, I cannot begin tofathom the reason behind the growing obsession
for these stone cold felines.
But if the rise in unusual cat paraphernalia (eg.
Yankee Candle’s delightfully exotic Whiskers on
Kittens fragrance) is anything, cats are slowly
taking the world by storm.
Just last year, the popular app game Nekoatsume (Kitty Collector) - a simple game in which
the sole aim is to lure rare stray cats into theplayer’s home and backyard through various incentives - was released and had quickly become
an international sensation. While simple in concept, the game had surpassed 10 million downloads and was honored as one of GameSpot’s
Top 5 Mobile Games of 2015. Even for a gamethat allows you to become the crazy cat lady of
your dreams, this statistic is still pretty insane.
So why the sudden surge in fixation? Like mostmillennial obsessions, it started on the Internet.
Youtube might as well be a haven for weirdly
endearing cat videos. With the rise of Internet
and social based technology, people have beenable to share pictures and videos of their cats.
Apps and websites like Instagram and Tumblr
acting as digital megaphones provide a platform
for cat-enthusiasts alike to share pictures andstories of their beloved fur-children.
A lot of people also love having cats over dogs
because they are relatively easier to take care ofand they require less interaction with the outside
world, not to mention the economic benefits ofowning cats. People have less time for social
interaction and pet care, considering the growing ageing population and stress on the working
sector. Economically, cats only cost 70,000 yen
for the duration of their lifespan, while dogs cost
119,000 yen in their lifetime.
Interestingly, there has been a reported increasedin male cat-owners in Japan. “They’re like children and girlfriends, rolled into one body,” said
Kyoto University student Jun Ito. “Even when
you’re feeling down, they keep you company bypressing up against your body. Since cats tend
to have an image of elegance, my female friends
often compliment me on my ‘fancy’ lifestyle aswell” (ITmedia).

Screencap of International Sensation Nekoatsume (Kitty Collector). (Courtesy of Jason Pettis | Flickr)

The term Neko-danshi (Cat-men) also refers toa category of men who are considerably more
selfish, self-invested and well - like a cat. Whilethese labels extend to dog men/women as
well, it’s intriguing to see just how far cats have
seeped into Japanese culture.
As someone who chokes back a sob wheneverthey encounter a dog, I am slightly ashamed to
say that even I have a steadily growing stashof cat stationery. And yet, a part of me has also
begun to admire the level of influence cats haveworldwide. When will this cat-craze end? Will
they leave their cold, unforgiving eyes and learn
to love us? Why am I googling health care options
for my non-existent cat? While these questions
are daunting to say the least, for now, whether welove them or not, the cat craze is here to stay.

What’s your relationship with your umbrella?

By Naoki Mizutani

How many umbrellas do you own? I have at least
three or more umbrellas. According to Weather
News’ 2014 Global Umbrella survey by Weather
News, Japanese people have an average of 3.3
umbrellas - which, surprisingly was the highest
number of umbrellas to own among the countries
surveyed. As for the reason, Weather News suggested that wet clothes do not dry well in Japanbecause of the humid climate, and the use ofumbrellas is widespread among the Japanesepublic from Edo era. At that time, however, umbrella was a little expensive for public, so theyused one umbrella carefully for a long time. The
world average was 2.4 umbrellas, with China
ranked fifth with 2.2, and England listed, eighthwith 1.9 umbrellas. Naturally, countries that have
many rainy days tend to rank in higher positions.
This survey was conducted in June 2014, and37,663 weather reporters from 35 countries cooperated with Weather News to investigate theworld umbrella conditions. Details of the survey
can be found on their website1.
Just how many umbrellas do Japanese people
use per year? Japan Umbrella Promotion
Association(JUPA) estimates that roughly 120
million to 130 million umbrellas are used annually, which is approximately equal to the population of Japan. It is said that this consumption

amount is the largest in the world, and more thanhalf of which are plastic umbrellas. Generally
speaking, plastic umbrellas are not used carefullycompared with colored fabric ones. For example,
if you take a walk in the city after a typhoon, youwill find many broken plastic umbrellas thrownaway on the streets. They are hard to disassemble, and often buried without taking to pieces.
Furthermore, many people tend to misplaceor forget their umbrellas. According to a press
release issued by JR East in 2006 2, a remarkable 270,000 umbrellas were delivered as lost
property to the train company in 2004. Althoughstation staff repeatedly remind the passengers
to pay attention to their umbrellas on rainy days,
umbrellas continue to be the most frequent itemon the lost-and-found list. What happens to thelost umbrellas kept long time in station or police
office? Of course, they are disposed of, even if
they are still usable.
How should we improve this not-eco-friendly
situation? Project “SHIBUKASA” attempts totackle the issue through providing an umbrellasharing service in Shibuya. This service is an umbrella sharing system around Shibuya. Collecting
the contributions of lost plastic umbrellas fromoffices, they make them suitable for partnershipstores like hair salons, cafés, and apparel shops

Shibuya Scramble Crossing on a rainy day (Courtesy of Seemann | Morguefile)around Shibuya. When it suddenly rains, theseplastic umbrellas are lent to the shoppers caught
without an umbrella. This project aims to createa sustainable community with kindness and connection between people.
I think how Japanese people treat umbrellasreflects the modern Japanese attitude toward
goods. Would you like to reconsider the relation
between you and your umbrella?
1English version
http://sunnycomb.tumblr.com/post/90373669845/
global-umbrella-survey-results
Japanese version
http://weathernews.com/ja/nc/press/2014/140724.html,
http://weathernews.jp/smart/umbrella_survey/result/2

https://www.jreast.co.jp/press/2006_1/20060502.pdf

21

Wagashi -our savior, anko and kanten-

By Yuka Fujiwara

best buddies and work best together.
The other miracle ingredient that makes wagashi
diet-friendly is kanten. Kanten was born in Japanin the Edo era, and is one of the main ingredientsof many wagashi. It is mainly made of tengusa
seaweed with plenty of dietary fiber and has almost no calories. Thanks to dietary fiber, kanten
lowers blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood
sugar levels, preventing obesity. Needless to say
this is much healthier than those using sugar andfat. Kanten itself
h a s n o f l a v o r,which means it
can be any flavor
by being cookedwith various
foods.

anmitsu (a popular Japanese sweets made by kanten)

Traditional Japanese meal “washoku” is famous
for its healthiness and it has been added to theWorld Intangible Cultural Heritage. But did you
know that not only Japanese meal, but also Japanese sweets, “wagashi” are sweets known forbeing less of “guilty” eating? Wagashi is said tobe better for those who are on a diet than western sweets. Why is that?
One big reason of the healthiness is hidden in
the ingredients. Fat has the highest calorie compared to protein and carbohydrate .“Western”
sweets, represented by cakes, pies, waffles are
made with a lot of butter, eggs, fresh cream andall of these include much fat.

For example, withfruit it becomes
fruit jelly. Kanten
has no colour andmizu-youkan (a popular Japanese sweets made by kanten)
is translucent, sousing many kinds of fruit, it not only tastes good,On the other hand wagashi represented by anko
but also looks good. If you cook with anko with(sweet bean paste) and dango are made withkanten, this is mizu-youkan. These two examples
azuki-beans and glutenous rice. Compared toshow kanten can be used for both Western andthe ingredients of Western sweets, these include
Japanese sweets. And the great thing is that,little fat and are low calorie. Especially anko,
kanten is so easy to cook. Basically all you havea main character of wagashi, is not only low
to do is boil, mix and refrigerate.
calorie but is also good for beauty. Specifically,
containing iron and polyphenol, it helps prevent
Generally sweets are thought to be a big enemy
anemia and keeps our skin beautiful. Also, azukiof those who are on a diet. Though, at the samebean, the component of anko, contains vitamin
time, sweets have the positive effect of making
B1 which changes sugar to energy in our bodies.
us feel happy. Most people have the dilemma of
So, after eating your fatigue may be lightened.
not being able to live without sweets but also not
Furthermore, wagashi goes well with green tea,wanting to gain weight. Maybe wagashi can bewhich contains tea-catechin. This encouragesa savior for us all.
the burning of fat. Wagashi and green tea are

Unusual ways of eating cheese

By Yuka Fujiwara

As a student living alone in Tokyo, I have to prepare meals for myself to live. Being a food lover,I wish to eat many kinds of food. However, there
is a big problem-I cannot finish eating entire
packages. Say I wished to eat plenty fruit, andbought apples, oranges and strawberries. Few
days later, they change colours and get bad. Like
this,if I buy many types of food, it goes beyond
the amount for one college student. This is completely a waste of food and money. Therefore I
can only buy one type of food and keep eating
it until it ends. Needless to say, it is easy to getbored finishing a package of something.

Recipe 1.”Kireteru cheese“ (sliced cheese)
Normally kireteru cheese is eaten as it is fromthe package. This food is famous, but I guess
not many people know that by putting it in the
microwave, it changes dramatically.
I guess some of you have experience getting
tired of the the cheese at the end of the package

as you keep eating. Enters here the microwave.
All you need is a plate and some parchment
paper. Place the parchment paper and kireteru
cheese on the plate. Then microwave it for about
1.5~2minutes. That’s it! Take it out from the microwave and viola! Kireteru cheese has changed
its appearance to something completely different! The soft clean rectangle has disappeared. It
tastes and looks like a cheese cracker.

My experience living alone in Tokyo and my persistence in eating many kinds of food has mademe invent a few recipes. Here I introduce my
special cheese recipes, my favorite food withmany nutrition.
They can be made easily, and above all, they area bit different from the conventional way of eating this dairy product .

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Kireteru cheese before microwaved

Kireteru cheese after microwaved

EXPLORING JAPAN
What You Should Know about Matcha

By Seo Hye JuneI remember hesitating which ice cream to orderduring my very first stay in Kyoto. In the menu,
there were photos of three flavors including
vanilla, green tea, and a mixed one. Written Matcha ice cream on the menu, I thought it was theexact Japanese word meaning green tea, which
was a little different. It seems a lot of people
including some Japanese, don’t know the difference between Matcha and green tea. So what’s
so special about Matcha?
Put it simply, Matcha is one type of green
Tea. Including Matcha, Sencha, Gyokuro, andBancharui, there are four types of green Tea. The
most popular green tea drink in the market isSencha. The major difference between Matcha
and Sencha, is the way of cultivation. Before 2
weeks of harvesting the tea leaves, Matcha isgrown in a tea field covered with shade to evadethe sunlight. However, Sencha is grown at a field
exposed to sky. Adding to that, Matcha is groundpowdered green tea while Sencha is a groundleaf. Because it requires a lot of care during theprocess, it is expensive than the normal green
tea. Due to its umami (savory), Matcha is normally used in traditional tea ceremonies of Japan,
and desserts like snacks-cakes and drinks.

many snacks and sweets using matcha in Japan.
Almond chocolate (Meiji), Meiji Rich Matcha biscuits, Otona Puchi Chocosand Uji Matcha (Bourbon), Oreo Premium Noukou Matcha Milk Cream,and Starbucks Discoveries Kyoto Matcha Latte.
These make for a great gift to family and friends
overseas; reasonable and distinctly a product ofJapan.
Matcha drinks, Matcha sweets are indeed aunique culture of Japan, which is also why it isso popular.
Near Komaba, there are two places prized for
its Matcha drinks and sweets. Both two stations away from Komaba Todai Mae, one isin Shibuya and the other in Shimokitazawa.
Located on the 5th floor of Shibuya Hikarie,
Zenkasyoin ( 然 花 抄 院 )provides customers withsweet Matcha castella and ice cream. On the
2nd basement floor of Hikarie, people can buy
Matcha, the powder itself and enjoy it at home.
In Shimokitazawa, you can find Shimokita chaen
Ooyama ( しもきた茶苑大山 ), a store known for its
shaved ice with Matcha syrup on the top.

Including Matcha, Japan’s green tea has outstanding health benefits. Matcha is especiallyknown for being rich in theanines and catechins.
Theanine relaxes those who take it in and has aeffect of soothing one’s feelings. Catechins arecompounds of polyphenol that contains manyeffects like diet effect and antioxidant effects.
For those who find Matcha too bitter, Matcha
sweets could be another way of enjoying Japan’s
most revered tea. Any foreigner can easily findMatcha full of savory

Photo: Xuan Truong Trinh.

Recipe 2. “Cream cheese”
Cream cheese is another popular product. The
mild and sweet taste goes very well with breadand crackers and is the ingredient of manysweets. Many people hold off on consuming
large amounts of cream cheese because of thehigh calorie, even if they love the taste. Here isa recipe for those who are health conscious andwant just enough to fulfill your sugar crave.
First, are bread and crackers the only things we
can put cheese on? Definitely no. In my special
recipe, you spread cheese on Tofu (I strongly
recommend mascarpone cheese); the silky tofu
are particularly good for this.
You can put any jam you like. (Daredevils may
find sweet bean paste to be a good match it,too.) You might have difficulty imagining how ittastes or even don’t feel like trying it, but this isreally good.

Tofu with mascarpone cheese and blueberry jam

And it is low calorie! This tofu and cheese will bea hero for those who are on a diet, but also wantto eat sweets.
Thanks to these special recipes, I am able toenjoy the satisfaction of finishing packages. Not
only good for my purse and environment, butalso it is very fun thinking and trying them out.

23

Contributors ( As of March 2017 )Editor’s NoteKomaba Times is an English-language newsletter written by students
at the University of Tokyo. Our goal is to create a place for students
to voice their opinions to the university community as well as to thewider world.

Yuka Fujiwara

HSSIII, 2nd year student

Abhishek Gupta

NSII (PEAK), 2nd year student

Marina Kondo

This year we are fortunate to have a small group of dedicated student
volunteers who have asked to be involved more heavily in the production of Komaba Times. Their enthusiasm will no doubt have a positive
impact on the newsletter, as the newly improved website has proven.

Japan in East Asia, PEAK, 4th year student

Komaba Times is happy to celebrate its continued cooperation withTodai Shimbun, which is the official student newspaper at the University. Some of the stories from Komaba Times have been translated andreposted on Todai Shimbun for their digital content.

Yu Yu Phua

We are delighted that these alliances among our young student journalists are being forged, especially in an age where critical engagement with society has become increasingly crucial.

HSSIII, 2nd year student

We hope to hear from readers as well as students who would like tojoin our endeavor.

HSSIII (PEAK), 2nd year student

Naoki Mizutani
HSSI, 2nd year student

Yuya Nagata

HSSII, 2nd year student

NSI, 2nd year student

Angeli Rambukpota

HSSIII (PEAK), 2nd year student

Hye June Seo
Kyle Smith

HSSIII (PEAK), 2nd year student

RongXuan Tan*HSS: Humanities and Social Sciences, NS: Natural Sciences

Issue 6 Publication date : April 2017

Editor/Supervisor Yuko Itatsu

Assistant Editors He Xinqi, Angeli Rambukpota, RongXuan Tan

Supported by Globalization Office, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo
Contact : Komaba Times, PEAK Program, College of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo
3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro, Tokyo, 153-8902, Japan
Email : thekomabatimes@gmail.com
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