English Newsletter by Komaba Students

https://www.komabatimes.com/

55 Articles // April 2018 // Issue 7

Content

Academic Life…………… page 1
Komaba Campus……… page 7
Perspectives…………… page 17
Exploring Japan………… page 26

Photo by Xuan Truong Trinh.

ACADEMIC LIFE

Job hunting uniform.
Photo by author.

Grating Grades

By Jessica Ge

Grades. Grades. Grades. Grades are commonly
recognized as a symbol of the apparent successof a student. This is no foreign concept to thestudents at The University of Tokyo, who havebraced through its highly competitive entrance
exam and hours and hours of study at home andat cram school. However, what kind of students
does this education system produce? The sightof students stressing about these numerical figures is no rare sight, but why is it so? The following is a personal account from a student looking
back on her schooling life, examining what kindof life she has led, and what kind of life shewants to lead from now on.
Good grades do not equal smartness. Thus in thesame sense, bad grades do not equal stupidity.
Perhaps you recognize one of Albert Einstein’s
well-known quotes: “Everybody is a genius, but
if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, itwill live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
Parents raise their children telling them to be
their own person, to find their own purpose in
the world, and that is okay to be different andunique. Yet the education system, which plays
an influential role in at least the first 18 years of
their lives, encourages the homogenisation of
A Todai student hard at work. Photo by author.

their abilities under the excuse that only in thisone way can everyone be judged fairly. But it isfar from fair. It is undeniable that smartness canbe measured in a variety of ways. Some people
are street smart, some have a keen sense of
direction, some are really good at solving visualpuzzles, others better with audio stimulus. Of thebroad number of people we encounter each day,their skills and abilities are even broader. In thatsense, how can a simple number properly represent the intelligence of a person?
Students are taught to study, but not learn.
In the process of being forced to adapt to thisstandardised assessment scale, students aretaught how to study for a certain test rather thanlearning and retaining the information it is supposed to test. What the majority of students getout of school are an improved short term memorybank, fast essay writing skills, and an irregularsleeping schedule. This is further reinforced inJapan with its cram schools that are specificallytargeted towards raising grades. Cram schools,
or juku, are special private institutes that offer
lessons after normal school hours, on weekends,
and during school vacations. As the name suggests, a lot of time is dedicated towards studying,
yet it is purely focused on increasing their numerical grades, and not on the quality of education or
the application of critical thinking. Are students
studying to gain deeper knowledge about theirsubjects or are they studying to pass?
Grades should not define who you are as a person.
Humans are not quantitative data. To reduce a
person to a simple number is to take away theirindividuality. Yet so much of the world evaluatespeople based on their numbers. Throughout our
schooling we are conditioned into thinking that
grades are everything. We compress our three-Self-advertisement paper. Photo by author.

dimensional self into a two-dimensional number.
Japan’s strict resume format illustrates this twodimensional compression. A number of lines areprovided to list education and employment history
with no room for further elaboration; only a small
section is provided for the applicant to describe
who they are as a person. How can workplaces
tell the difference between one applicant and another when all they have is a sheet of paper almost
identical to the hundreds that came before? A
number of students at The University of Tokyo begin shuukatsu (job hunting) once they reach theirsenior year. Many hope to be the one to stand out
and win a good position at a company. However,their identical black suits and white dress shirts dolittle to set them apart. It is clear to see that plain
numbers and letters on a sheet of paper do little tocapture the complexity of humans.
From a young age we are told that we have to
go to a good university to get a good job to live
a good life. We get into these institutions byachieving a certain grade, so we study hard toraise those figures. We are told that the higher
the grade, the higher the guarantee of success.
But there is no guarantee. So why do we cling
onto the idea that grades are so important? Why
do we let our lives revolve around these plain numerical figures? Perhaps it is time to reconsider
the weight we place on this aspect of our life.
Perhaps it is time to focus on the quality of ourlife, rather than the quantities within it.

Shingaku-sentaku:
A Turning Point for Students in the University of Tokyo

By Shin Tokura

sentaku. It is as competitive as theentrance exam. The students haveto get high enough scores to get
into a faculty they want to study in.

Building 1 in Komaba campus, UT. Photo by author.

During the second year at the University of Tokyo, students come to a turning point in theirlives—known as Shingaku-sentaku. It is a system
in which students from all departments (students
are divided into six departments; Science 1, 2
and 3, Humanities and Social Science 1, 2 and 3
when they get in the university) decide their majors based on their average scores for courses
they’ve completed by the summer semester of
their second year. Students study liberal arts before they choose their majors and they focus on
their majors after that. Although this is common
in universities overseas, it is peculiar in Japan.
Apparently universities in Japan are hard to enterbut easy to graduate because students do notneed to study so hard to graduate. However, thissystem makes the University of Tokyo different
from other universities in Japan. The history of
Shingaku-sentaku dates back to 1947 when the
University was divided into two schools; the Tokyo Imperial University and the First High School.
Students had to take an exam to get in the Tokyo
Imperial University from the First High School.
This exam is said to be the origin of Shingaku-

The system of Shingaku-sentaku
has changed over time. Now, it has
three stages of selections. In the firstround, 70 percent of the maximum
seats in each faculty are selected.
At the second selection, the rest of
the students are selected. If needed,faculties that still have vacant seatswelcome students in the third round.
Usually, each faculty has seats
limited to certain departments andseats open to all departments. Fore x a m p l e , the Economics faculty welcomes
189 students from Humanities and Social Science2, 7 students from all the science departments
and 42 students from all departments.

Gingko avenue on Komaba Campus, UT. Photo by author.

There are upsides and downsides to Shingakusentaku. As the University of Tokyo boasts, students can study whatever they want to without
being trapped by their majors. Actually, one of
the major reasons why students come to the
University of Tokyo is because they do not haveto choose their major before getting into theuniversity and they can study broadly. Fromthe point of view of educators, it might have agood aspect because it makes students study
at least until that. However, students tend to go
for courses which can earn easy grades rather
than following their interests. That is why students who have more than a year to think about
their major spend that time with almost no help
to choose their major and they come to face a
problem they are not supposed to face, whichis thinking what to study in the future vaguely.
Students are preoccupied by a lot of required
courses (science students need to get about 60
credits by the summer of their second year) andthe grades in these courses, which leaves themlimited opportunities to seek out their interests.
As an example of this case, I wanted to come to
the University of Tokyo because the system of
Shingaku-sentaku attracted me. The fact is thatmy schedule is almost filled with requirements
and I chose the course with easy grades. Now, I
have no idea what I want to study in the future.
Among many required courses, there are some
non-requirement courses done by each facultythat is aimed to let students know what they canstudying in the various faculties. These kinds ofcourses really help students choose their majors.
However, many students do not take that kind ofcourses because they are already busy with requirements. In my opinion, those courses should
be requirements or the University of Tokyo
should not force students so many requirements
so that they can take those helpful courses.

Recommendation-based Admission at University of TokyoBy Yu Nakatsuka

From 2016, the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) has
started a recommendation-based admission“to increase the variety of the student body andstimulate the undergraduate education,” according to the official homepage of UTokyo.

students think students who were accepted bythis system are extremely talented, “special”
people. However, when I interviewed Aoi Takeuchi, who enrolled in UTokyo in 2016 using thissystem, he had something to say about that.

Before this reform of the entrance system, alldomestic students were evaluated only by thescore of the examinations. However, from 2016,
UTokyo decided to evaluate students based onother aspects such as achievement of extracurricular activity. Since the introduction of this new
admissions system, 154 students have been accepted to UTokyo.

I want to ask you few question about recommendation based admission today. First ofall, I know you personally and think that you
could have easily passed the entrance exam.
Why did you use recommendation-based admission?

Since, this system only takes a maximum of 100
students each year, most of the students in UTokyo do not know much about the system. Many

2

Well, one reason is that there is no Shingaku-sentaku (trans. selection of major) if you take the recommendation-based admission. In UTokyo, students select their major from the third year. This iscalled Shingaku-sentaku. To study the major you

want, you need to earn a good grade during the
freshmen and sophomore year. But students who
used recommendation-based admission decide
their major when they apply, so instead of worrying about Shingaku-sentaku, I can focus on what I
want to do during the university life.
And, to be honest, the other reason is that I
didn’t want to study for the entrance exam.
I see. So after you decided to use the recommendation-based admission, what was theprocess of exam?
First, we have to write a few essays to demonstrate why we chose an specific major, what we
did at high school, and what we want to do at
UTokyo and after we graduate from UTokyo. In
my case, I wrote mainly about my experience at
the International Chemistry Olympiad and theACADFMIC LIFE
Seminars at UTokyoBy Yulee Kim

There are a number of advantages in college life,
and one of them is that students can easily gain
access to specialized courses of interest and diverse experiences. One way students at UTokyo
can access these special learning experiences
on campus is to participate in seminars, which
are lectures and discussions about independent
research or practical experience in one’s specialized field. The University of Tokyo holds numerous
seminars, many of which are listed on the University of Tokyo event page website (http://www.utokyo.ac.jp/en/news/events/index.html) There is
everything from an Algebra seminar by a MIT professor, to Tokyo Carbon conferences. Chances are
you’ll find something that matches your interest.

Why are seminars important?

Of course, students can attend seminars for thepure purpose of increasing their knowledge andfulfilling their intellectual curiosity, but for junior division students, these events may be particularly
useful in deciding a major since UTokyo students
apply for a major after finishing a 2-year liberalarts curriculum. There are many students who
wonder whether their choice in major is the rightone. In such case, attending the UTokyo seminars
may help students to experience various majors.

Students can participate in a variety of seminars,
regardless of their major or interests. You candirectly attend various classes from linear algebra lecture by MIT professor to business seminarsuch as Tokyo Carbon Conference.
This year, Han, a PEAK Environmental Science
student, attended a seminar by Dr. Carl Wieman,
who is a professor at Stanford and received theNobel Prize. Because it was held at Komaba, allstudents were able to attend the seminar easily.
Dr. Wieman gave a lecture about ways to teachphysics more efficiently. The Nobel prize-winning
professor brought his own experiment results
to explain his own teaching methods. Not only
UTokyo students but also professors from PEAK
environmental sciences actively engaged in Dr.
Wieman’s lecture. Han said “the lecture was very
useful and application method was not difficult.”

Seminars are open in varying degrees. There arealso many flyers around the campus. Many UTokyo’s seminars accept not only students but also
members of the public. Capacity always varies,
from 10 to 300 people, and there are many places where seminars are held, often at the Hongoor Komaba campus, and most of the seminars
are free. Seminars are usually conducted inJapanese, but English-speakers, do not worry,
there are also many English seminars, too. Whenyou set the language of the UTokyo event pagein English, it is often possible to find Englishlanguage events. (http://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/
news/events/index.html)

Seminar flyer in Komaba campus classroom. Photo by author.

I also heard that there is an interview exam.
Could you tell me more about it?
In the interview, I prepared a resume in advanceand did a presentation about what we wrote in the
essays and answered questions about my presentation. It wasn’t too serious like everyone thinks. I
think that examiners want to see our personalities
than the academic abilities at the interview.
By the way, we hadn’t seen each other after
we entered UTokyo. How have you been? Has
this recommendation system affected yourlife in any way?
It’s been great. I’m really glad that I took thisHow to Apply For UTokyo Seminars

UTokyo website event page.

Photo byauthor.

National Science Competition. And when I wrote
my essay, I made sure everything I wrote wereconnected with each other.

UTokyo seminar provides various opportunities
to participate in not only academic seminars but
also business seminars that the company has
actually conducted within their own business:
The Tokyo Carbon Conference was held in Hongo
Campus. Japanese company Toshiba invested
in African countries within the project GO Thermoenergy in Africa. It was not an academic seminar for GO Thermoenergy, but rather about business trends. Han remarked that attending various
seminars, from academic to business, is definitely
an opportunity to expand her knowledge.

The registration method is different for eachseminar, but often easy via an online registration
form or a simple email.

system. Since I didn’t have to be sensitive about
my grades, I took as many classes as possible
and I will get all the credits I need by the firstsemester in my sophomore year. I won’t have totake classes for a while and I’m planning to doa internship using this time. Because I alreadyhave a major, I think it is easier for companies to
accept me for internships.
Since Takeuchi attended national and international science events, it may seem that recommendation based admission is for special
students. However, he also said this. “Students
from the recommendation-based admission are
not that different from other students. If you havesomething that you devoted yourself to at highschool, you should try and apply. There is noneed to hesitate.”

Theme for group discussion at the interview exam for Law
Faculty. Students were asked to discuss population decline
based on given data. Image by author.

3

Credit Where Credit’s Due

By Cameron Lam

spread out their credits are nonetheless enjoying their university
lives. It is possible to finish theminimal requirement in threesemesters by taking 10 classes(which is about 17.5 hours) a
week. By doing that, students
can participate in circles andclubs of their interest while fulfilling the credit requirements.
While not as easy as the juniordivision, the difficulty of the senior division highly depends on
the specialisation of the student.
Course catalog for 2017 Spring semester and Guidance booklet for PEAK
For example, the senior division of College of Arts and Sciences asks for 76
How heavy is the workload at The University ofcredits while the College of Medical Sciences
Tokyo(UTokyo)?
demands as many as 90+ credits. Cezar Visan, athird year student in the College of Arts and SciWorkload is undoubtedly a factor to consider
ences, spread out his credits and took 8 classes
when you are choosing the university you attend.
per semester. He is now looking to finish his
For UTokyo, the first two years of the four-year
credit requirements in the first semester of year
undergraduate degree is named “junior division”.
It falls under the College of Arts and Sciences,which offers a liberal arts education. After which,students specialise in different departments andproceed to the two years long “senior division”.
Classes in UTokyo are usually conducted oncea week and yield two credits for semester-long
Credit requireones. While credit requirements vary according toments of PEAK
departments, the average credit required for the
students in the
junior divisionfour-year education is about 150-180. On the other hand, although universities outside of Japan
ask for less credits, more work is needed to earn
4. “The number is not challenging,” commented
the credits(e.g. more frequent classes and tutoriCezar, with a computer-screen-full of readings,als). So how tough is it as a UTokyo student?
“but workload increases a lot from junior division
to senior. We used to have 20 pages of reading
The workload in the junior division is not thatper class but now it’s 50 plus and sometimes aheavy. With the minimal requirement of 56 credhundred.” While there are students like Cezar
its in the two-year long division, allocation of
who hope to empty the last semester to focus on
credit is versatile. As a PEAK student, I am soon
their graduation thesis, a considerable number
finishing my 56 credits by the end of my secondof students also do not mind taking classes insemester; another student who is in his second
the last semester of their four years study, further
year of studies, Takuno Nishimura, also finishedfanning out their credits across the semesters.
his credit requirements during his first year while
participating in several students projects that
Difficulties student encounter when fulfilling thebrought him overseas over the summer. Having
credit requirement are the categorisation and con24+ hours of lessons per week for two semester
tent of the classes. In the junior division, classes
and then laying back and relaxing for a semester
are categorised into foundation courses and intemay not be everyone’s option, but those who
grated courses, which is then further divided into

groups like social sciences, humanities, ideas andarts, mathematics. UTokyo students are subjected
to a set of limitations that calls for careful balance
between classes of interest and of credit requirement. Kenta Kofuse, a first-year science student,
found it particularly difficult to strike a balance
between courses he wants to take and those hehas to take. Since the sheer number of mandatory
courses for science students already placed significant pressure on him during his first semester,
he was not able to pick courses on philosophy,
race, or other language courses of his interest.
Philipp Buschmann, who is currently in his second
year in UTokyo, commented on how some classes
are misplaced into other categories.
Delayed graduation may happen under certain
conditions. For one, going on a semester-long exchange may result in delayed graduation becauseof the complication in the credit transfer systemfrom exchanges programmes. Students are required to match up courses they take overseas
and courses offered at UTokyo before submitting
a document that will go through the departmentcommittee, which changes yearly, for approval.
Moreover, the final decision lies in the hands ofthe professor who teaches the class. Currently
in his third year after spending a semester in Zurich, Kamiyu Hijikata is only applying to transfer 4
credits from his exchange programme. “Luckily I
began obtaining senior credits since my second
semester in year 2,” commented Kamiyu. Classes
that yield credits to the senior division are available starting from the fourth semester. Students
usually take classes from the senior division in
their fourth semester to alleviate their workloadin the senior division. Careful planning is advisedfor those who aspire to go on exchange without
delaying their graduation.

When preparing for a class in history. All photos by author.

Is Your One and a Half Year Worth Studying?

By Sachiko Kawano

Do you have enough scores for the department
you want to go to? Why do I have to study mathand physics even though I am sure that thosesubjects are unimportant to my career? Althoughmany students of University of Tokyo (UT) have anegative attitude toward the curriculum, our school
is one of the few universities in Japan that allow
students to decide their major after their entrance
and to take liberal arts classes, which can be agreat appeal for students to apply for this school.
Possibilities in front of us.
Edited by the author.

4

One thing that is often criticized about this latespecialization system is the lack of specialized knowledge and skills. For example, a twoyear education at the undergraduate level is notenough for science students to acquire proper
skills to conduct experiments and write papers.
Other universities in Japan offer courses in areasof specialty from freshmen year and let students
prepare for advanced research in their later university life. When students at UT decide theirmajor in the summer of their sophomore year,
they need to endure a nail-biting competition toACADFMIC LIFE
Stepping Outside the Comfort Zone:
University of Tokyo Students Speak about Studying Abroad

By Ji Hee Song

Trinity College Dublin (March, 2016).
Photo by Yoshiyuki Yamada.

Interacting with new friends (September, 2015).
Photo by Ena Okano.

Disneyland with a roommate (August, 2016).
Photo by Saeko Kawataki.

University of Tokyo (UT) offers a large number ofinternational exchange programs, for example
USTEP and AIKOM, which are diverse in lengths,
places and types. To encourage their students toparticipate, the university provides various typesof scholarships, holds briefing session on campus and recruits former participants of the international exchange programs as tutors to introduce these programs to other students. Despite
their efforts, the numbers of students studying
abroad is not that high; according to the Globalization Office, the number of undergraduates in
the College of Arts and Sciences participating inthese programs ranges from 30 to 40 each year;
33 in 2014, 34 in 2015 and 39 in 2016.

However, there are a number of students wholeft the shore and became a trailblazer. Here, 3
students talk about what made them go on exchange, what kinds of difficulties they have faced
and how they overcome.

help from the writing center on campus.

The biggest reasons behind the lack of participation are fears of using English and worries about
delayed graduation. Unlike English, Japaneseis regarded as a subject-object-verb (SOV) language which makes it difficult for Japanese people to learn English and gain confidence in using
it. Moreover, worries toward delayed graduation
act as an obstacle toward studying abroad.
Graduating university in 4 years is usual in Japanese society and age is still considered crucial
in employment which makes students hesitatein participation of these exchange programs.
Though many efforts are made by the Universityof Tokyo, still it is not enough for many students
to step outside their comfort zone called Japan.

earn high grades if they wish to enter popular
departments, such as the medicine and pharmaceutical departments. Students tend to end up
taking easy classes rather than subjects of theirinterest due to the pressure from this system.
However, I think the late specialization system isvaluable if students understand its original purpose. We can choose our favorite courses among
a variety of topics, including literature, music,
math and physics. Not only can we learn knowledge outside our major but also these classes canInterests about the European Union and soccer
led Yoshiyuki Yamada, senior majoring in International Relations, to study at Trinity College Dublin
in Ireland for a year. For the first few months, hestruggled in adjusting to his new life in Ireland. “It
was my first time living abroad and I have to admitthat language was the major problem living andstudying in Ireland. Reading a huge amount of references every week was very stressful. Also, doing
everything by myself was very tough since I never
have lived alone before going to Ireland,” says
Yamada. Although overcoming those difficulties
took some time, not only did he gain confidence
in English but it became an opportunity to reflect
about Japan. He realized how convenient Japanese society is when calling a repairman but also
how conservative it is in issues such as LGBT.
Ena Okano, a senior majoring in International Relations went to the University of Toronto in Canada. Since she has lived abroad for more than ten
years, she did not worry about her one year in
Toronto; however, food and English still became
the sticking points in living. Fortunately, she overcame these in her own smart way by getting foodfrom a nearby Japanese supermarket and getting

be precious opportunities to talk and cooperatewith students from different backgrounds. Recently, communication skills and cross-disciplinary problem-solving abilities are considered more
and more important in the job market, so a liberalarts curriculum meet the needs of society. Even
though we must take many mandatory classes
that we are not necessarily willing to study, they
provide a chance to discover our strengths that
we had never realized and to find out the subjects unsuitable for you. I, for one, noticed that I
was much better at math in university than I had

Saeko Kawataki talked about her short-term exchange program in University of California, San
Diego (UCSD). Her interest on cognitive scienceand a vague admiration toward United States
made her dream of 5 wonderful weeks in UCSD,
however, it was not as romantic as her expectation. Slow wi-fi, food, incorrect timetables at bus
stops and also the fact that she was the only
Japanese in the program were an obstacle forher to overcome. Nevertheless, she recall it as
an unforgettable experience making her learn
more about herself, Japanese society and theworld. “Although I struggled, I really learned alot. I knew that US is so-called ‘open’ society but
knowing it through experience is totally a different one. I don’t mean to say that America is sucha marvelous country, but I do admit that every
single day in US was exciting, giving an opportunity for me to step back and look at myself andmy country, Japan.”All of the students agreed that studying abroad
was a valuable experience to them and despitedifficulties and hardness they faced, they stillwished to get a chance of living abroad. “For me,
studying abroad can be defined as leaving fromunconscious biases and tasting real freedom. I
hope more students will give it a try to go abroad
not only to improve myself academically but tobecome a better-me,” says Kawataki.

thought in high school. A number of studentschange their career options completely by realizing that their dream is not what they are reallyinterested in and finding another area to pursue.
A year and a half at the College of Arts and Sciences might sometimes seem too long and unnecessary. For those who have decided yourmajor, take your favorite classes and continue
working toward your goal. For those who havenot, keep an open mind and take liberal advantage of the time.

5

ACADFMIC LIFE
Conquering PEAK: A Survivor’s Guide to Credits

By Ela Bogataj Stopar

In most cases, entering university turns one’s life
upside down. All of a sudden, it is up to no one
but you to provide your meals, wash your clothes
and pay your bills – and on top of that, you arealso expected to stay on top of your schoolwork. Finding your way through PEAK’s systemof requirements can be confusing, but there isno need to worry. This article will try to shedsome light on how to tackle your central mission
in your first two years of university life: gaining
enough credits to progress to the next level.
According to the current rules, PEAK students
must gather 56 credits in the first two years ofuniversity in order to advance to the Senior Division. Each year is composed of two halves,the autumn and the summer semester, and the
maximum credit limit for each semester is 30. In
terms of dividing your work between the years,
this leaves any student with two options: either
they endeavor to get all the credits in their firstyear in favor of relative freedom in the second,or they meticulously plan their schedule for eachof the four semesters so as to get all of the work
done on time without overworking themselvesin the process. Over the years, there have been
students tackling both the first and the second
strategy, and – as one would expect – there are
upsides and downsides to both.
Collecting all the credits as soon as possible
seems like a reasonable course of action, es-

pecially given the many chances for studying
abroad if there are no lectures to attend that semester. Although it is true that by the end of thethird semester almost everyone will have all of
their Junior Division work completed, the fourth
semester is not quite as free as the third could
be. In the fourth semester, students can alreadystart taking Senior Division courses and getsome work done ahead of time – an opportunity
well worth taking advantage of. In practice, however, this means blood, sweat and tears in Year 1:
with the majority of courses yielding two credits
each, covering 28 credits each semester equals
to about 14 courses per semester. Adding that toextracurricular activities and leisure time, this isa strategy that calls for consideration of not only
the student’s will, but also endurance.
Compared to that, dividing the credits equally
between three or four semesters will indeed grant
the hard-working student a little bit more space
to breathe and time to sleep. But a different typeof danger lurks behind the innocent façade of a
precisely calculated study plan: it leaves no roomfor error. University courses are quite a bit different from high school as much in level as in style,meaning that failing a course is an unfortunate
slip that can occur to anyone. Furthermore, as
the selection of courses changes each semester,a time may just come when few courses on themenu suit one’s taste - although a small amountof necessary academic evil is to be expected,

How to avoid ending up with too much on your plate?
Photo by Jessica Cross | Flickr.

it would certainly be preferable to reduce thatamount to a minimum and study as much as
possible of the truly interesting material.
In general, most students end up taking between
11 and 14 courses in each of the first two semesters and use the third semester to fulfill whateverremains of the requirements. This might soundlike a lot to students who are used to three orfour courses per week, but as PEAK course
lectures only take place once per week for 105
minutes, 12 courses means about four and a half
hours of classes per day - nowhere close as terrible as your average high school schedule. Balancing the pros and cons of the equation whileconsidering one’s habits, skills and interests
ultimately rests in each student’s own hands,leaving doors open for a variety of unique experiences of university life. And just when you think
you have it covered, along comes the Senior Division – a whole new game with a whole new setof rules.

Class Culture at the University of TokyoBy Yu Nakatsuka

registration system in UTokyo can be complicated and challenging for freshmen. Upperclassmen
can help freshmen to go through the system.

Which language do you
want to study? Image byryantbarnettusu | Pixabay.

At the University of Tokyo (UTokyo), all students
choose their third language from Spanish,French, German, Chinese, Italian, Korean andRussian. Students are divided into classes by
their languages. Class culture plays an important role in campus life at UTokyo. Being partof a class helps students get information about
courses and extracurricular activities. Above all,it provides an opportunity to make friends.
When freshmen enter UTokyo they go to “classcamp” before classes start. In this class camp,
upperclassmen take freshmen to a camp for twodays. Typically, freshmen introduce themselves,play sports and have a barbecue to get to know
their classmates. At night, upperclassmen help
freshmen choose their courses. Since students
do not have much freedom to make their own
curriculum in Japanese high school, the course

6

As the semester starts, class community becomes even more important because freshmen
and sophomores take almost all of the mandatory classes together with their classmates.
When students have trouble understanding thelecture or miss the class, they often rely on theirclassmates. Students interact with their classmates outside class too. For example, at the May
Festival, each class makes their own food stand.
At the end of the semester, they have parties tocelebrate the end of exams.
Most diligent:
Most intelligent:
Most active:
Most fashionable:
Most unique:

German (78.5%),
French (30.4%),
Spanish (82.6%),
French (68.8%),
Russian (81.7%),

The class community takes up a huge part of ourlife in UTokyo. If you are a prospective student,
one thing you should know about class cultureis that each class has a different atmosphere depending on the third language. Class atmospherecan be one of the factors to consider when you
choose your third language. To help you decideon which language to choose, I did a survey
about the impression students have about otherstudents from each language class.
In my survey, subjects were asked to choose thelanguage class whose students are most diligent,intelligent, active, fashionable and unique. Hereare the results from 93 responses.

Chinese (12.9%),
Russian (4.3%),
French (2.2%)
Chinese (27.2%),
German (22.8%),
Russian (18.5%)
French (8.7%),
Russian (4.3%),
Italian (2.2%)
Spanish (16.1%),
Italian (8.6%),
Russian (4.3%)
French, German, Korean, Italian, Chinese (3.2%)

Except for most intelligent, particular languages
have a dominant vote on each categories. According to students’ impressions, German classes arethought to be the most diligent, Spanish classes
to be overwhelmingly active, French classes are
the most fashionable and Russian classes standout in their uniqueness. It seems that students’characters match the image of each country thatthe language comes from. Germany is known for
its industry and the people are thought to be hardworking. France are known for its art and fashion,and Spain are known as “ the country of passion”
in Japan. However, Russian classes being unique
do not really match the image of the country. We
do not know why but it seems that majority ofpeople think that Russian classes are unique.
At Todai, class culture means a lot to students’university life. Each language allegedly has different atmosphere in the class. It might be wise
to take this into consideration when you choose
your third language.

KOMABA CAMPUS
Life after PEAK

By Dhriti Mehta

The PEAK program started in October 2012 as
an attempt to attract bright young minds fromacross the world and to internationalize the environment of the University of Tokyo. Since its inception, PEAK has fostered intellectual debates
and cultivated global thought. It has succeeded
in not just being an excellent academic program,but also a close-knit family which continues
to grow. Almost five years since the program
started, it is time for the second batch of PEAK
students to graduate.
This conclusion of the PEAK journey raises thesimple yet pertinent question in the minds of current students, faculty and even prospective applicants, What is life after PEAK like? Students fromthe graduating class of PEAK (Class of 2017)
were interviewed to find out more about theirdestinations after graduation and future plans.
The discoveries were intriguing, especially because of the diverse paths the students plan totake.
While Japan in East Asia (JEA) may sound like a
degree course specific only to Japan, the liberalarts structure of the PEAK program gives you theopportunity to design your course in a manner
similar to most International Relations courses.
Thus making ‘Global Affairs’ a popular field for
JEA students.
“Academically, I had such a wide variety ofinterests before I came to PEAK and that has
definitely multiplied, but I was able to decidethat what I enjoyed studying the most was reallyabout global networks, the effects of globalization on culture and people and what it means tobe truly global,” says Manasa Sitaram, a JEA major. Owing to this interest in globalization studies,
Manasa took many classes related to the field
during her study-abroad semester in the U.K. allof which eventually helped her in selecting her
specialization at the graduate level. Manasa will
be pursuing an MA degree in Global Thought atColumbia University starting this fall, and couldn’t
be more excited to move to New York!
Like Manasa, Sam Brustard (JEA) realizes theimportance of the global education he received
at PEAK. While he has been admitted to an MSc
in the Global Politics program at the London
School of Economics and Political Science, he isalso exploring options for working at the British
Embassy in Tokyo or doing governmental workat New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and choosing to defer his LSE offer for a year.

A point on which a lot of graduating students
agree is that the freedom to diversify, coupledwith the opportunity to specialize, is amongst
PEAK’s strengths.
Marina Kondo (JEA) is one such student who
realized her passion lies in studying political science in East Asia, which she intends on pursuingfurther at Yale University starting this fall. She
says, “I was never interested in politics until I
took a class on Japanese domestic politics during my second year. I have also been able to takeclasses on Japanese history, culture, language,
economics, and sociology. Although the classes
may not cover as much material as many American university classes do, it is a great way to
explore different subjects and find your passion!”
Erin Kawazu knew from the beginning that she
would like to specialize in Environmental Sciences (ES) and although she admits that the
PEAK ES program did not give her substantial
specialized knowledge in one field, she was able
to discover her own area of interest from a wide
range of topics she studied during her time here.
Erin is heading off to Columbia University to pursue a Master’s in Public Health in Environmental
Health Sciences starting this fall, where she
hopes to develop more specialized knowledge inthe relationship between human health and theenvironment.
A big misconception most people have when
they look at the two majors PEAK offers, Japanin East Asia and Environmental Sciences, is thatthey would be restrict to only these specific areas of study in their future. However, that is far
from the truth.
Bipasha Kaur Chatterjee (JEA) has been accepted to a Master’s program in Gender Studies at
LSE. While she acknowledges that the structureof PEAK classes left her wanting more, she isthankful for the academic and supportive environment her professors created at the Universityof Tokyo which helped her follow her dream ofstudying Gender Studies and contribute to society by attempting to find solutions for genderinequalities.
Similarly, Helen Chang, an ES student, alsochose to switch to a completely different area ofstudy and has decided to go to Yale University to
study International and Development Economics
at the graduate level. Her advice to students isstraight-forward,“I encourage people to challenge themselves and get some intern experiences. Interning at a company really makes you
realize what you want in life.”
And interning may even get you a job! Or at least
it did for Hyeyoon Sung (JEA) who has decided
to accept the offer of a full-time employment
made by the International IT start-up company
she interned at.

Decision time for PEAK students.
Image from https://pixabay.com/(modified by author)

Kotoe Kuroda (ES) and Marie Hayashi Strand(ES) are two other PEAK students who decided
to take a more conventional path and like mostJapanese university graduates underwent theintense Japanese shūkatsu (job hunting process).

PEAK: The brainchildof the University ofTokyo. Image courtesyof PEAK.

Their hard-work paid off and both have secured
jobs at Japanese development/construction consulting companies in the environmental and international consulting divisions respectively. And
although going to graduate school in a few years
is on the cards for all three, they are happy to begetting the opportunity to get practical work experience before doing so.
While many of these students have achieved
their lifelong dreams after graduating from PEAK,
some like Sherry Zheng have carved new dreams
to follow. She says, “I’m one of the few people
that decided from the beginning of fourth yearthat I wasn’t going to go to grad school, not foranother good three, four, five years. On top of
that, I’m one of the even fewer people who has
not run the shūkatsu race and secured myself aspot in a company already.”
In fact, Sherry has bigger plans.
Since the end of her second year she became interested in film/video and since her third year she
became even more interested in photography. As
a result, she is looking to start working in video/
photography and will be trained as a multimedia
journalism intern in Japan after which she plans
to narrow down her options further with the work
experience she will gain. Originally from Australia, she is still open to the idea of going home or
staying or moving on to another country, as longas there’s something for her to do with a camera!
While interviewing these PEAK senpai (upperclassmen), I was impressed, proud and inspired
all at once, when I heard about their future plans.
A fairly new program, PEAK has been successful in carving an identity for itself because of thehighly-qualified and motivated graduates it produces. As a current first-year student, I have only
just begun my journey at PEAK but already feelextremely determined and optimistic after witnessing the amazing feats of the classes whichhave graduated.
As a final thought from the PEAK Class of 2017,
Sam Brustard says, “PEAK gives the students
many opportunities to succeed but doesn’t reallygive us a roadmap for how to achieve them, so
it’s all on you at the end of the day.”And indeed, while PEAK students may take different paths, it is evident that all of them havereached the final destination of achieving theirgoals, fulfilling their dreams and reaching their
PEAK potential!
Best wishes to the PEAK Class of 2017 from theentire PEAK family.

7

Just Dance: Life as a Seikyoumae Dancer

By Sarah Goh

If you have ever been to Komaba campus before,
you may have noticed people dancing in front of
the cafeteria and bookshop. Among Todai students, these people are known as Seikyoumae
dancers – Seikyou refers to the co-operative thatruns the school cafeteria and bookshop, and thesuffix mae means in front of – so that would translate literally to ‘dancers in front of the cafeteria andbookshop.’ Now you may be wondering – whoand why are these people dancing in our school?
Well, I happen to be one of them so let me introduce you to this unique group on campus.
Seikyoumae dancers mainly come from three
dance circles, namely Wish, Boiled and FreeD.
Each of the dance circles have their own distinctive features. For instance, FreeD specialises injazz dance while Wish and Boiled specialise instreet dance. The three dance circles stage various showcases throughout the year and perform
at school festivals. You may have realised thatthe average Seikyoumae dancer is somewhat
different from the average Todai student. Seikyoumae dancers tend to be more stylish and wildin their dressing and hairstyles compared to thestudious and bookish Todai students. Aside fromthe fact that dancers are just naturally trendier,
this is because some of them come from otheruniversities. In particular, Wish and Boiled recruit
students from other universities and they probably constitute more than half of the members.
As for the choice of location, Seikyoumae may
not seem like an appropriate place to dance.

Given that it is open-air and on gravel floor, itcertainly is not the most ideal for dancing. Practice has to be cancelled on rainy or snowy days
and we sometimes have to sweep away clumpsof fallen leaves in the fall. So why continue dancing there? The most important reason would becost. Unlike renting a studio in town, dancing
at Seikyoumae obviously does not cost money.
Since university students are perpetually lacking
money, this is a huge draw. Another key factor
would be the glass panels that line the Seikyou
building. They are somewhat reflective, particularly when it gets dark, so we use them as a substitute for mirrors. Moreover, convenience is also
a big factor. While it is possible to rent the studios inside the Seikyou building for free, this has
to be done about a month in advance and in true
Japanese fashion, requires a degree of administrative procedure. Especially when performances
draw near, dancers may spontaneously decide
they want to squeeze in some practice on aparticular day. All they have to do is go down to
Seikyoumae and dance to their heart’s content.
However, dancing at Seikyoumae is not entirely
free of rules and restrictions. We have to keep
clear of the entrances and exits to the cafeteria
and bookshop. On occasions when the space
has gotten too packed to the point of obstructing traffic, we have been chased away by angry
Seikyou employees before. As such, the threecircles usually stagger practice on different days
and timings to prevent overcrowding. The only
exception would be on Sundays when the Sei-

Seikyoumae dancers dancing. Photo by author.

kyou does not operate. You would be able tocatch dancers from all three circles occupying
the entire space. While one may envision epic
dance battles among the three circles to decide
who would dance where, relations between thevarious circles are quite peaceful. As a generalrule, whoever comes earlier gets first pick, but
over time the different circles gravitate towards
different areas, working out quite a harmonious
arrangement.
Perhaps what is most striking about Seikyoumae
dancers is that they are able to dance freely
despite the constant public gaze and lack the
inhibition which so permeates the rest of Japanese society. In reality, most of us Seikyoumae
dancers do start off feeling rather self-conscious.
But as time passes, we gradually get used to the
curious stares from passersby. In fact, the more
we focus on our dancing, the less conscious webecome of the public attention. One can also
think of this as good training for dancing in frontof a crowd. All in all, the Seikyoumae dancers
add an interesting twist to campus life and show
a creative and unrestrained side of students
which we do not encounter every day.

Imperial Japan Persists Within these Hallowed Halls

By Taiga Tasetious displays of imperial reverence. The centerpiece of the campus and the symbol of UTokyoin popular culture, the Yasuda Auditorium, wasbuilt during the Interbellum period specifically to
remedy the lack of a binden, a resting place for
the Emperor, within the University.

The chrysanthemum-like decoration atop the Hongo Main Gateis actually a rising sun on closer inspection. Photo by author.

The one hundred and three-article long postwar
Japanese constitution is a consistent pot-stirrer
in Japanese politics. One of the most relevant tocampus life, as well as the university as a whole,is the very first article; it establishes the Emperor
as merely a ‘symbol of the State...and People’with no political power.
But what impact does any of this have on The
University of Tokyo, the foremost of the kyuuteidai, or Former Imperial Universities? In contrast to the Komaba Campus, which bears few
marks of the far-reaching influence of the Imperial household, Hongo makes far more ostenta-

8

Campuses the city over are dotted with reminders of the a bygone era. In 2015 a statue ofHachiko was erected in the Yayoi Campus although his owner was indeed a professor at
the University, Hachiko is also remembered as
being the subject of a large-scale propaganda
campaign in prewar Japan to stoke the flames ofnationalism. He was exalted as a purebred Japanese dog that upheld traditional Japanese valuesof loyalty to one’s master and perseverance.
Not that the former Tokyo Imperial University’s
administration is stacked with nationalists, ofcourse. Students may be dismayed to find outthat classes are held as usual on the 23rd of the
December, the birthday of the Emperor regnant
and a national holiday. Despite the annual greetings delivered by the Emperor, few teachers willtake attendance to the celebrations as a valid
reason to miss class.
One red herring amongst the relics of Imperial
legacy is the kabuki festooning the Main Gate.

Although blatantly a sixteen-petaled Imperial
chrysanthemum at first glance, more careful
examination reveals it to be but a sixteen-rayedkyokujitsu, or rising sun. Although certainly aJapanese symbol, even a sixteen-rayed rising
sun is not nearly as Imperial as the chrysanthemum, which was stamped on every Imperial
Japanese rifle to mark it as personal property of
the Emperor.
Chrysanthemum do, however, adorn the clay
vessels on either side of the General Librarystairs containing decorative plants.
It appears that the microcosm of UTokyo, bothofficially and in practice, reflects the highly mixed
and seemingly contradictory views of society
as a whole on the place of the Imperial family.
Although nominally completely separate fromthe Imperial household and no longer an Imperial
University, relics remain throughout that act asa constant reminder of its legacy. The actual impact the frequent reminders of the Emperor has
on students is miniscule. Yet words and symbols
matter. The University - especially in pursuit ofmore international appeal - seeks to distanceitself from Imperial Japan, but the history of theinstitution is so deeply intertwined with the Empire that the legacy will remain stalwart so longas the mortar and bricks remains standing.

KOMABA CAMPUS
Todai-sei : The Weight of the UTokyo Brand

By Takuma Furukawa

UTokyo has been a topic popular in media recently. Whether it be about the eccentricities of
UTokyo students or the myths surrounding theuniversity, media outlets paint an image of the
University of Tokyo, one which does not necessarily apply to all attending students. It’s wellknown that some students hesitate to introduce
themselves by saying, “I’m a todai-sei (UTokyo
student).” They say, “ 一 応、 東 大 生で す (ichiou todai-sei desu)” in Japanese. The “ 東大生です ” portion is simply, I am a UTokyo student, but there isno direct English translation of “ 一応 ” that would
fit into this context. The closest translation would
be “technically” or “in theory.” This shows thatusing “ichiou” (with all of its connotations intact)
is a phenomenon nearly exclusive to Japan.

“elite” for a long time. For example, people say“if you enter UTokyo, you will definitely have abright future. You won’t have any hard time finding a job, and you will be financially secure forthe rest of your life.” UTokyo has been described
as an internationally top-tier university. The social
status received from attending The University ofTokyo is invaluable. Most Japanese companies
that are hiring put a large emphasis on which
university the applicants are from; therefore, it
is natural to assume that UTokyo students areguaranteed bright futures.

Describing the meaning of this phrase as clearlyand simply as possible, it creates a sense ofslight reluctance at revealing that the person saying he or she is actually a UTokyo student. It is
used similarly to a tentative “well…” or hesitant“uhm…” before revealing information that one
would not necessarily want to share with others.
Why are they reluctant to say which university they
are from? It is because of the image the media
and past generations have created regarding The
University of Tokyo. The stereotypes shown in the
media are not what should be expected of all UTokyo students, but it is hard to break these images.

However, what is the reality that UTokyo students face? Many of them don’t believe that they
deserve this image in which they are put on an
unreasonable, nearly un-obtainable pedestal. It
is true that they must have made tremendous efforts to enter UTokyo, but once accepted, studying at a Japanese university is often describedas “four years of spring vacation.” Therefore,
UTokyo students do not believe that the image ofan elite university student is appropriate for them.
They are afraid of being the objects of envy or not
being able to live up to such an image. In orderto prevent this situation, they add “ichiou” when
they say “I’m a todai-sei”, and imply “I’m not assmart as you think” beforehand. There are twomain reasons why they do not want the image ofa “smart” UTokyo student to be applied to them.

The University of Tokyo has been thought of asFirst of all, the entrance exam focuses on memori-zation skills and solving as many problems
in as little time as
possible. Many believe UTokyo students
memorize well andknow many things,
but, in reality, some of
us are not as knowledgeable in fields
other than the ones
we were required to
study. It is commendable for the students The weight of the Todai-sei
status. Image by https://www.
to have passed the ac-illust.com, edited by author.
exam, but many of
us do want it viewed as something that can beachieved by diligent studying and careful preparation. Secondly, many of the UTokyo students
on television shows or other forms of media are
portrayed as being geniuses. They are the ones
who fit the cookie-cutter image of UTokyo prodigies while the rest of us attribute our acceptanceto the university to hours upon hours of studying.
While many UTokyo students might seem stuckup when hesitating to reveal the name of their university, there are a multitude of emotions behind
this action. Perhaps it is time for our generation tobreak the stereotype of a “todai-sei” and to show
the diversity and rich culminations of cultures that
our university has to offer to Japan and the world.

Komaba Museum

By Yu Nakatsuka

Enter the main gate of the Komaba 1 Campus.
Turn right, go straight, and you will see the building in the picture. Many of you may have walked
passed but never gone inside. If so, you are missing out on some fascinating learning opportunities. This building is the Komaba Museum which
has a history spanning more than 50 years.
Aside from the permanent Exhibition about
Oman, Komaba Museum holds exhibitions about
3-4 times a year ranging on themes from literature to physics. Professors from Tokyo university
offer and organize each exhibition. Professor
Orimo, director of Komaba Museum, says that
the Museum’s mission is to disseminate the research done at the University of Tokyo especiallyto students in Komaba.
The most recent exhibition was “Novelists andNewspapers: The Golden Age 1900-1939”. For
people like myself, who have little knowledge
about literature, the theme of the exhibition may
sound a little unfamiliar. However, detailed andclear explanation panels provide us new perspectives toward literature.
Today, popular novels are sold and read inbooks. However, exhibited newspapers in early
19th century tell us a different story. Back then,newspapers were the main way to publish nov-els. Well known novels that are still read today
such as “Sherlock Holmes” or “Le Comte deMonte-Cristo“ first earned their fame as serial
novels on newspaper. The exhibition further
shows us how newspaper affected the novelists
and how the books and newspaper differed.
For example, “Doctor Dolittle” was first publishedin book form and later appeared on newspaper.
Explanation panel shows that the caption of theillustration changed on newspaper, altering entirely the understanding of the novel.
According to Professor Orimo, newspapers became cheaper because of printing technology
and the introduction of advertisement fee. Newspaper and newspaper novels became more popular to the public. Some novelist such as Dickens
or Dostoyevsky may sound academic to us now,
but people back then looked forward to the next
installment on the newspaper every week. “ Tothem, those stories were like light novels!” Orimo
says.

only real records can tell. We should understandstrong points of each method to study historical
records and use them.
He also told me about their next exhibition from
July 15 to September 18. It will be about a famous physicist Toda Kazumori. He is famous forhis research about structure of liquid. Exhibition
will not only show as about his research but also
about his interest in toys.
From my experience of visiting “Novelists andNewspapers: The Golden Age 1900-1939”, I assure you that you will learn something new byvisiting exhibitions in Komaba Museum.
Komaba Museum, taken by author.

Furthermore, he also stresses the importanceof preserving actual historical records and exhibiting it in museum. Today, a trend to makedigital record is prevalent in historical research.
Although there are many advantages of making digital records, there are some things that

9

The Struggle behind the Boar and Wine at May Festival

By Sachiko Kawano

However, the preparation did not go as smoothly
as I had expected. One difficulty was that I had
to contact many people outside the university,
such as the brandy company, the prefectural
government and the local media outlets in Fukui.
Not only did I write many emails to buy products
from the prefecture, I also made a lot of calls to
media outlets who were interested in our project.
It was my first time to receive and send so manybusiness letters and calls, so I was nervous
about whether I used polite enough language.
Our stall (Bistro FUKUI). Photo by Makoto Iwasaki.

The sweet smell of crepe, the curl of smoke rising from Gyukushi (grilled beef skewers), and thestreets busy with people and their laughter. You
can experience the joyous mood just by walking
around the campus and exploring various foodstalls during May Festival, the school festival
at the University of Tokyo. However, this is not
the only way to join this annual event. I was incharge of a stall this year and managed everything necessary from purchasing ingredients togiving instructions to the members. It was noteasy at all, but I felt a great sense of achievement afterwards, and learned good lessons anduseful skills to live in society.
It is common for freshmen classes, school sport
teams, and culture clubs to sell various foods
at May Festival. Our group was a bit different
from them as we were the participants of the
Fukui program last summer, which is a programof about ten people in total visiting either the
Echizen area or Wakasa area of Fukui Prefecture
in order to see and experience farming and fishing. Since we were impressed by the rich naturalenvironment, we wanted to introduce the prefecture to other people and decided to sell its local
products, boar meat skewers and plum wine, at
our school festival.

Moreover, there were so many application procedures to operate a stand and rent the necessary
materials. All the students who are responsible
for projects at the festival were assembled for an
orientation in February. After that until May, we
had to fill in different forms to explain our products, get permission for selling alcohol, select thelocation of our stall. When the committee of the
May Festival told us that we would not be able tosell boar meat because of its risk of food poisoning, we were baffled and felt hopeless. However,
we finally received a green light from the committee after long emails to convince its safety.

Why did I decide to do the work despite thesechallenges? Sometimes this thought cameto my mind, but I realized that the struggles
yielded much more important learnings. Many
people supported me throughout the festival;
for example, the members of the adjoining stallhelped us set up our tent during the preparation.
Smiling faces of the visitors who ate our boar
skewers and drank our brandy encouraged us aswell. A couple of girls liked our brandy so muchthat they ordered another cup and spread news
about our stall by word-of-mouth. It strongly reaffirmed the kindness of people around me.
In addition, I acquired skills to communicate in adecent manner with people whom I met for the
first time and business people who are mucholder than me. It was my first time to organize agroup at such a big event as May Festival, whicheven attracts media attention. This project became a good chance to repay people in Fukui for
their kindness during the program last summer.
They said they were glad about our intention to
do something for Fukui. We could not have beenhappier, relieved, and proud of ourselves to manage the project successfully when we sold thelast cup of brandy.

We continued to have difficulties on the days ofthe festival though. Our teamwas small from the beginning,
and what was worse was thatmany of the members werebusy with other activities, so
we managed our store with
only a few people at any given
time. I was really busy withmanaging the members andtreating customers at the sametime. Also, I had to stay at ourstall as the person in charge
most of the time due to the rule
Plum Brandy.
the committee established.
Photo by Makoto Iwasaki.

Boar meat skewers. Photo by Makoto Yanase.

Souji : The Art of Cleaning in Japan

By Lexa Brieck

Let’s be honest here. We all know how hard it isto keep a room tidy. Here are a few tips to makeyour life easier if you’re living alone, in a dorm, orotherwise in Japan. In this article, I would like tofocus on souji (cleaning) during the four seasonsin Japan – what you’ll need to do and when it’sbest to do it.

SUMMER

This is the season in which you want to be especially careful with mold growth. For mold to
grow, there are four key factors: organic material,
fungal spores, moisture, and warm temperatures.
So, how can you prevent the ghastly growth ofmold from spreading in your home? Well, there
are a few options (most of which won’t “break
the bank”).
1) Fans. Whether it’s airing out your bathroom
after a steaming shower or clearing the moisture from the kitchen after making a piping
hot bowl of pasta, it’s essential to circulate air

10

in these rooms so that moisture does not immediately cling to surfaces and make it easy
for mold to grow.
2) Dehumidifiers. These can help to suck the
moisture out of rooms, but the downside isthat they’re an extra expense. I would recommend using these only if the other options
don’t seem to be working.
3) Opening windows. This is common especiallyin Japan. Opening windows helps to circulate
air throughout the house. It’s especially good
if you have multiple windows or doors thatyou can open to create a system of pushing
new air in and old air out.
And if none of these work, what do you do? Well,the final option is just to clean the mold. Make
sure you have gloves, masks, and sometimes
even goggles depending on how bad the mold is.
There are a few options to cleaning mold, but what
I find best (and cheapest) is the following method.

1) Mix equal parts ethanol and water in a spraybottle, and spray this mixture over the affected area.
2) Cover the area with a coating of baking soda,
and let this dry for a few hours.
3) Finally, scrub away the mixture with an old
towel or dry sponge (something easy to throw
away afterwards). Everything should be dry
and clean, revealing a mold-free surface.

SPRINGFor Spring, I’d like to focus on something that
plagues many of us: pollen. According to theJapan Times, nearly 1 in every 4 people in Japan
experience an allergic reaction to cedar pollen
throughout the months of February to May. Thisis a staggering amount! So, even if you take thenecessary measures to combat these allergic reactions while outside, it’s hard to prevent pollen
from entering your home. Here’s a few tips tocombat these tough times.

KOMABA CAMPUS
Todai-Speak: A Crash Course on Campus Slang

By Sarah GohEver taken some nigai classes or bought a
gyakuhyoutei before? No idea what these words
mean? These are just some examples of theslang that has developed from the unique school
culture here in Komaba. Don’t worry if you neverheard these words before, this article will introduce you to all the frequently used slang youneed to know to survive in Komaba.

Onakura 同クラ

An abbreviation of onaji kurasu (same class) andrefers to your classmates. For most university
students, the class unit is a matter of the past as
students are typically arranged by their faculty
and department, not by class units. However, theUniversity of Tokyo is unique because students
in the Junior Division are assigned classes which
they take all their compulsory subjects with. Your
onakura would be some of the people you firstmeet upon entering university and whom you’ll
continue to see almost every day throughout thefirst year. Furthermore, significant school events,
such as the Orientation Camp and May Festival,
are usually organized based on the class unit so
it would be best to try to get along well with youronakura.

Nigai 二外Short for dainigaikokugo which means second
foreign language (the first foreign language being
English for Japanese students). All April-entry
students are required to learn nigai during thefirst year and some examples of the languages
available are French, German, Chinese and Russian. One’s choice of nigai is quite consequential
as classes for the Junior Division are assigned
based on nigai.
There are several amusing stereotypes that areassociated with the various nigai. For example,
Spanish classes are thought to be full of outgo-

1) Regularly clean your air conditioning filter. Air
conditioning cleaner sprays can easily bebought at a local supermarket or online. Justbe sure to wear a mask when using it to prevent another allergic reaction!
2) If your air conditioner is connected to the outdoors, avoid using it as it can bring pollen into
your room. Instead, opt for a dehumidifier orstanding fan.
3) Try to regularly clean allergen-trapping materials such as bedding, carpets, moisture-filledareas, etc. Regularly cleaning can help keepthese places pollen (and dust!) free.
4) Showering before bed can help remove pollenthat you have brought in from outdoors. Thisway, you won’t be tracking it into your bedroom when you go to bed.

FALL

Here’s your season to take time off from large
bouts of cleaning (unless, of course, you need toing and fun-loving people while those in Germanclasses apparently tend to be more serious andphilosophical.
Coincidentally, nigai also happens to be a homonym for the word ‘bitter’ in Japanese. For somepeople, this may be strangely fitting, as manyare said to have suffered bitter experiences whilelearning their nigai.

Gyakuhyoutei 逆評定Translated literally as reverse evaluation andrefers to a biannual student-produced compilation of students’ evaluation of teachers. In the
gyakuhyoutei, students rate teachers on a 4-point
scale from daibutsu (great Buddha) to oooni (great
demon) and comment on quirks of the lessons.
Students in the junior division must fulfill somecredits for elective lessons and depending on
the professor and elective chosen, the amountof work involved can vary widely. Those looking
to achieve good grades with relatively little effort would scan the gyakuhyoutei to look out forcourses with lenient teachers and easy exams.
If you have ever visited Komaba campus, you
may have noticed a rather strange group of
students in front of the school gate or cafeteria
shouting incredibly fast through a megaphone.
They are the student group responsible for collecting feedback on teachers and publishing the
gyakuhyoutei. One can purchase a copy of the
gyakuhyoutei from them at a relatively reasonable price of ¥300.

Shiketai シケタイ

An abbreviation of shiken-taisaku and refers to
examination preparations. The University of Tokyo is notorious for its difficult entrance examination, so one would expect UT students to be very
adept at studying for exams. In fact, UT students

rake leaves off of your front doorstep). Keeping
your home clean during this season will help reduce the work for you with Winter’s big cleaningat the end of the year.

WINTER

A page of the gyakuhyoutei. Photo by author.

are so good at it, that there is a whole informal
system dedicated to examination preparations.
In every class, there is an appointed shikechou –someone who is responsible for coordinating the
shiketai and assigning various people in class
to be in charge of each subject. The person in
charge of a subject would take notes for that
subject and search for past year papers on behalf of the entire class. In essence, shiketai is adivision of labor strategy that aims to maximize
the efficiency of examination preparations.
Hopefully you are now more familiar with theslang commonly used on campus. Aside frombeing able to better understand the conversations of UT students, knowledge of the slangused on campus provides us an insightful
glimpse into student culture in Komaba. We cansee that the diligent yet strategic UT students
have devised many ingenious ways to keep up
with school work and still enjoy university life.
Why not try using some of the words introduced
above? You’ll be one step closer to speaking likea bona fide UT student.

huge undertaking of cleaning is to buy supplies
at the 100-yen shop (such as Daiso) to savemoney. Trust me, it’ll take a lot of supplies, but,on the upside, you’ll be able to ring in the newyear with a refreshingly clean home.

This is the season in which you
do what in America is referred to
as “Spring Cleaning.” This is usually done at the end of the year. A
survey done in 2015 by a major
Japanese manufacturing company,
Lion, estimated that nearly 72%
of households plan on doing thisend-of-the-year cleaning. People
cleaning apartments need to set
aside about one hour per room
for cleaning, and those in larger
homes might need to set aside
more time depending on the sizeof the rooms. The best tip for this11Struggle with Homesickness

By Hanna Hirakawa“You can never go home again, but the truth isyou can never leave home, so it’s all right.”- Maya Angelouof people at major train transfer points such as
Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Kichijoji stations every
morning on the way to campus.

Several months into college life, students finallyfeel that things are settling down. For many firstyear students at the University of Tokyo (UTokyo),it is not just the anxieties for new classes andunfamiliar faces that come to an ease, but thenerve-racking experience of moving into a newplace, a new city. Clearing the hurdle of adjusting
to a new environment, however, is no easy task.
Homesickness, or the feeling of longing for home,washes over students in spontaneous waves.

Students quickly adapt to such changes in lifestyle as they need to focus on fulfilling their rigorous course schedules, but at certain moments,
the sense of something absent suddenly weighs
down on them. According to the Counseling Services at Warwick University, up to 70% of students will experience homesickness in their earlydays at university. Feeling a bit nostalgic fromtime to time, then, seems quite common among
students when entering college.

A good portion of the student population, 70.2%
to be exact, are from prefectures other than Tokyo, according to UTokyo’s student population
data. If you strolled through Komaba Campus,
you would notice the distinct dialects spoken
by these students. Still others, students whoare part of foreign exchange or PEAK programs(where courses are lectured in English) have
moved here from other countries. As statistical
data by the university indicates, roughly 3% of
the first and second year undergraduates werefrom foreign countries outside of Japan, as of2016. These numbers are likely to be slightly
higher since Japanese returnees are included in
the domestic student population. And thus, formany freshmen, the beginning of UTokyo life isfilled with unaccustomed and jarring experiences. Especially those who came from suburban
areas are bewildered by the overflowing streams

However, this feeling is not something to bepushed aside easily; careful attention is needed
depending on the degree of the student’s emotional state, especially if it is disabling him or her
from carrying out daily activities. When coupledwith the need to adapt to new class settings andassignment loads, homesickness can possibly
lead to serious levels of stress. Typical emotional
symptoms include crying from distress and sudden waves of emotion. These effects may bereflected as physical symptoms, such as in theloss of concentration, eating or sleeping difficulties, nausea and headaches, trembling, and feeling either too hot or too cold.
At UTokyo almost 80% of the 108 surveyed
students who have moved from elsewhere had
experienced homesickness at some point during
their university life. The timing of homesickness

Longing for home. Photo by Dhriti Mehta.

ranged anytime from the moment they set footon new ground or several months after settlingin. Interestingly, a wide variety of situational catalysts were accounted for such surges of nostalgia, such as cooking alone, going on ice-breakerclass trips, and seeing a rice paddy. The majorityof these triggers, though, involved the student’s
physical or emotional isolation from their loved
ones. Despite this data, only 46% of those whohave felt homesick indicated that they coped bycommunicating with their family.
At first thought, the solution to homesickness
seems simple and easy. If we wish to thrive in our
new setting, the quickest way would be tellingyourself to “get over it” to focus on the present.
Contrary to such convenient will, however, ourminds wander at times and reminisce on past
memories and the good feelings attached to them.
Why do these sentimental feelings recur in not juststudents’ but people’s daily lives? One reason may
be that our hearts are stubborn compared to our
logical minds; we do not like to accept the departure from objects, places, and people that we havegrown attached to over the years.

Alone in Komaba: Combating the Challenges of Leaving Home

By Ela Bogataj Stopar
Homesickness.

An emotion practically inevitable for anyone who
has just moved to a different country to spend
four years breaking their back in college. In spiteof being the enthusiastic, decisive and independent student that you must be to have impressed
the PEAK interviewers, it does get to everyone atsome point; although it seems we tend to keep
quiet about it. Why, however, remains a mystery,
given that suffering in silence only amplifies thecontradictory feeling of loneliness in the middleof one of the most populated cities in the world.
Owing to the fact that many of us live under thesame roof for at least half of our time here, PEAK
is a rather close-knit community, making the firstand obvious solution to the problem that mucheasier. Find friends. Whether you are an extrovert or an introvert, the sudden decrease in your
Studying abroad on your own can be overwhelmingly lonely.
Photo by Aftab Uzzaman | Flickr; edited by author.

friends or family’s presence is bound to have aneffect, and the only way to efficiently combat thatis by finding a kindred spirit among the people
whom you see on a daily basis. The PEAK interviewers look for specific characteristics in theapplicants, so you can safely assume you’ll havea few things in common with some of your newclassmates; all that is left is to overcome the inexplicable want to spend the entire weekend inyour room and make plans with them.
On particularly bad days, leaving the dorms to
explore the city is beneficial regardless of whether
you bring a friend. Tokyo is excellently equippedwith green surfaces for a city of its size, andwhile nature might not be an adequate substitutefor your mother’s delicious homemade meals, itdoes have a reputation to lift one’s spirits. Take
your earphones out for a run or a walk, or consult
Google Maps on beautiful bits of urban greeneryslightly further away from Komaba if your taste
for adventure manages to withstand the gloomy
mood. If nothing else, it will at least provide a
distraction and an opportunity to appreciate themany benefits of living in the center of Tokyo.
Speaking of distractions, the University of Tokyo
offers plenty of ways to keep the students busy
and productive during their free time. Clubs andcircles come in a variety of flavors, from sports to

12arts and science, and they provide for wonderfulintercultural exchanges with the domestic students
as well as a place to practice your Japanese. Ifgroup activities fail to be your cup of tea, or you
prefer to earn money as opposed to spending it in
the case of some clubs, the administration officealso posts part-time job opportunities for students
with different interests and levels of Japanese. You
could even start a project that has been brewing in
the back of your mind, or acquire a skill you always
thought would be amazing to have. Although sometimes the only acceptable remedy may be a quiet
day in the company of TV series and junk food,breaking the daily routine makes for a much better
distraction. Furthermore, chancing upon people
who come from the same country is bound to offer
a little bit of comfort, especially if you live too far
away from Japan to take a short trip home during
the few short holiday periods within the semester.
Dealing with the challenges of leaving the nest,balancing adequate amounts of sleep with Skyping with family under the curse of time difference
and handling culture shock are all factors thatmake feeling disconcerted and missing home an
inevitable companion to starting university life
abroad. However, as inescapable as it may be,
it is also not entirely incurable; hopefully, it’s but
a matter of time that we make Komaba a place
where we truly feel at home.

KOMABA CAMPUS
The Crowded Commute: Three Hours to and from Komaba Campus

By Takuma Furukawa

How long do you take to commute to school orwork? Twenty minutes? Forty minutes max? I
take three hours there and back when commuting to campus. Being shoved around in overcrowded trains and holding on for dear life to thehandgrips, I make the journey every morning to
Komaba campus.
When I have 1st period from 8:30am, I have towake up at 6am (a.k.a. the crack of dawn for college students) to make it in time. Wanting to cut
down time between switching trains, I choose
the train car closest to the stairs leading to theplatform that I need. Even when rushing, though,I wait for the second-arriving train so that I will
have a chance to hold onto the handgrips instead of relying on a crowd of people to keep mefrom falling over when the train is in motion.
After I finally board the train, the realization that I

A platform during rush hour. Photo by Sushipaku | PAKUTASO.

have a long ride ahead of me is disheartening. I
always wish to utilize my time wisely by studying
or working on homework, but the constant shoving and wave of crowds makes it impossible toconcentrate on anything other than standing upright. A thirty-minute train ride later, I finally arrive
at my transfer station. As soon as the doors open,
I am swept up in a wave of dark suits as businessmen rush through the station to change trains as
fast as possible as though their lives depended
on it. Each time I change trains (three times eachway), I face this “torture.” Because I go throughthis situation every morning, I have accumulated
a few useful tips on how to make long commutes
during rush hour as bearable as possible.

1) Avoid Rush Hour:

The most obvious, but often overlooked, way to
avoid over-crowded trains is definitely to avoid
rush hour. Generally, rush hour is from around 7:30
to 8:30am. Its peak is at around 8:00. You can
avoid this time zone by waking up earlier or leaving home later. In fact, when I really want to avoid
rush hour, I wake up at five in the morning. To
board the train as soon as possible (around 5:30
a.m.), I sometimes skip eating breakfast at home.
This way, I am able to arrive at campus by seven- before rush hour even begins. The earlier in themorning you leave, the greater chance you haveof finding a seat so that you can catch some shuteye. In other countries, it might be unheard of tosleep in trains due to safety issues or uncertainty,
but I guarantee that many other people will bedoing the same as you, making it the perfect op-

portunity to utilize your commute time.

2) Use Smartphone Applications:However, it is sometimes hard to avoid rush hour.
It sometimes happens that you have to get intrains during rush hour. Then “NAVITIME Transit
Tokyo Japan” is a very useful transfer app thatallows you to search for a roundabout route to
avoid crowded trains. This app also offers theinformation on how crowded each train is.

3) Choose a Strategic Position:

Getting on the car at the tail end or at the frontis also effective. Many people have not triedchoosing the farthest car from the stairs. Once
you try this, you may no longer go back.

4) Move Further into the Train Car:

Even if you have to get in the crowded train,
there are some ways to ride trains as comfortably as possible. For instance, getting the position in front of seats is important because there
you can hold on to the handgrips, and it is not so
crowded compared to the area near the door. If
you have a large backpack, you should carry it
in front of you or put it on the overhead luggage
rack because it might make maneuvering in an
overcrowded train very difficult.
By combining these strategies above, you canmake your commute bearable. The crowded
commute may be one of the most serious problems you have to face as a worker or a student inJapan.

My First Gokon Experience

By Shin Tokura

Have you ever heard of gokon? Gokon (pronounced goh-kon) is like a group date. It is an
opportunity usually for singles to meet new people of the opposite sex. During gokon, a groupof boys and girls usually go to a pub together
to drink and chat. Some say that three boys
and three girls is a perfect ratio at a gokon. The
purpose of having gokon varies among people.
Some want to get a partner. Others want an onenight stand. Or just to have fun.
Last week, I went on my first gokon with twoother boys and three girls. The boys were myclassmates. One of the girls is a friend of one of
my classmates. The rest of the girls are friends ofthe girl. Gokon is usually held among strangers,
and I did not know any of the three girls. I did not
expect I would enjoy it because you could saythat gokon is gathering of losers in the struggle
for love. However, it was not bad at all. Although
my friend and I were late, it was quite enjoyable.
After we introduced ourselves, we started todrink quickly, everyone got more relaxed and we
enjoyed talking about where we live, part-timejobs, hobbies, families, and our ex-boyfriends
and ex-girlfriends. In a few hours, we started toplay games. Because the loser had to drink, we
got rather drunk. At 9:30pm, a girl left because
she had a curfew. We kept drinking until 10. In

Japanese culture, men are supposed to pay
all or pay more than girls, but we split the billequally and went to a park nearby. We rode theswings and the slide in the dark at 11, and weyelled than talked. It must have be a nuisance tothe neighbors. Then, somebody suggested goingto a boy’s house and staying over night because
his house was near the park. We agreed with noreason except for drunken force.
In his house, we played a game using an app.
While we played the game, girls had their textbook
in their hands to prepare for an exam the nextday, but there was no moment when they studied.
We kept chatting until very late at night and I fell
asleep. I had heard somebody talking in a small
voice during the night. Even three days after the
gokon, I still chat with one of the girls online.
This was my first time gokon experience. Everyone was sensible throughout the experience.
The result of gokon is still developing. Possibly
someone will get together in the group. However,whether I will get a partner or not, I really enjoyed
it and I want to have another gokon again soon.
A typical image of gokon is rowdy. Apparently
a final goal for some men is omochikaeri, whichmeans “take home a girl” to have sex. One understands why 70% of women have experienced anawful gokon,
according tostatistics. It
is because of
these men,we played a game at the gokon
w h o t r y t o Whenafter one girl left. Photo by author
make women
drunk and take them home. To stop this kind ofawful gokon and let girls enjoy the gathering as
much as boys, you have to remember a coupleof things when you are in gokon. You should not
be so drunk. It is better be sober enough to see
yourself objectively so as not to make the gathering an awful experience. What counts is to enjoy
gokon itself. Not everyone gets a partner at gokon,
so you can say a gokon is successful if you enjoy
it and make new friends. Lastly, you should not
focus only your favorite person. If you do so, otherpeople will feel left out and also your favorite person will think you can not think of how unselected
people feel.
Although I wrote a couple of things you have tomind, you do not have to be so nervous. If you
go to a gokon, just have fun. Let go. Find someone who likes you as you are. Good luck!!
P.S. It is a pity that nothing has happened to me
so far one month after the gokon. I am planningto have another gokon soon.

13

Recommended Lunch near Komaba

By Shoko Sano

3) MUSKAN~Indian curry and naan~

In Komaba Campus there are few places to havelunch. Actually, the choices of restaurants are limited between eating at the cafeteria or buying foodat the Coop. Honestly, the amount and quality are
not good, and value for money is bad. However,
if you go out of Komaba campus and walk a little,
you can find lunch with better quality or value.
Here are two reasons why I think this information
will be useful for Komaba students.
Firstly, university students who basically liveon tight budgets, cannot treat themselves to
expensive lunches every day. Nevertheless, weare young so we eat a lot. My information about
good cost performance restaurants will be usefulfor students who eat a lot, or are trying to savemoney for lunch.

All photos by author.

This is also located two minutes from the gate
and we can get take-out curry and naan or ricewith salad at about 600 yen and enjoy lunch
there if you like.
If you eat lunch at the shop, we are recommended to choose lunch set which allows us to orderas much naan as you can eat.
Whether you choose to take out or eat in, you
can have freshly-cooked curry and naan andchoose from five levels of spiciness.

2) My basket~supermarket~

This is the nearest supermarket to Komaba
campus. It takes only two minutes from the maingate. They have a good selection with reasonable prices.
Nigiri (rice balls) go for about 60 yen.

Secondly, I want Komaba students to be more excited about eating even during short lunch breaks
on campus. Though this fact applies to any person, I believe that eating plays a really importantrole in our daily lives, and can affect our mindset
at many cases. Students sometimes are stressedout by busy days or studying, but delicious foodcan make students relaxed and improve their motivation for their own activity after lunch.
Here I will introduce some places little known
around Komaba campus.

1) TAKE~bento~

It is located next to Ramen Isshin which is at theleft side of Komaba back gate.
‘Higawari bento’ is 500 yen and the volume issignificantly more compared to usual bento at
food shops.

Of course you can find other places to eat lunch
or get some food, but these 3 shops are really
recommended for 3 points; low cost, large volume, and location.

Gaijin in Japan - Tips for Housing in JapanBy Yulee Kim

For most of the students who become students
at the University of Tokyo, they start their firstJapan housing in international lodges provided
by the University. However, some students needto leave the dormitory because they are not guaranteed their residence in the dorm for four years.
If international students plan to live in Japan for
more than two years, housing contract other thanuniversity dormitory is necessary. It is considerably
more burdensome for foreigners who do not haveenough information about housing in Japan. For
those who are interested in finding their first housein Japan, I would like to introduce a few tips.

Types of House in Japan●Apartment: multi-household house mostly
made of wood. As apartments are made ofwood, the rent is low. It is significantly more
vulnerable than a house made of concrete interms of soundproofing and security because
many apartments are old.
●Mansion: Unlike a large house is called mansion
in the West, high-rise apartments are called

14

mansion in Japan. Rodent problem is also better than that of apartments because mansions
are made of concrete.

procedures in getting housing in Japan.

1. Local Housing- Realtor: Usually, people use local realtors when
they want to rent. Because monthly rent ismost reliable in Japan, real estate propertiesare very active. Residents need to pay the brokerage fee, but this is most convenient way to
get rent since there is certain support from realtor. Sometimes owners do not rent to foreigners because foreigners can have visa problem
while having two year housing contract. (*Whena foreigner rents a house, a Japanese person
must be a guarantor. Otherwise, realtors introduce residents a guarantor company.)

2. Online Housing Site
However, it is not possible to look for local realtor
one by one. If residents do not want a particulararea, it is convenient to browse the house by using
internet. Suumo (http://suumo.jp), homes (http://homes.co.jp), Chintai (http://www.chintai.net) aresome of the major online housing information sites
in Japan. The site is in Japanese, so you may haveto use a translator. If you enter the desired pricerange, house structure, area, etc. in the site, youwill get a list. The contact information of the realestate agent in charge is also listed. After contacting the agent, you would need to bring friend who
can speak Japanese. Also, University of Tokyo
Housing Office for international students and researchers helps you with language problem.

- Realtor from your home country: There arehigh possibilities that there would be realtor
from your home country. It is most comfortable choice for foreigners who cannot speak
Japanese but want to circumvent complicated

3. Leopalace
Leopalace targets foreigners who want to findtheir housing in Japan. From monthly plans to
two year contracts, renters do not need a Japanese guarantor. However, comparatively, housing

Where to Look for a House

KOMABA CAMPUS
Achieving Gender Equality through Rent Subsidies

By Sarah Goh

From April 2017, the University of Tokyo beganoffering monthly rent subsidies of ¥30,000 to
newly-enrolled female students to increase thefemale student population which currently stands
at a meagre 20% for undergraduates. The announcement of this policy last November attracted significant attention in the media and was met
with mixed reception. Some people felt that thiswas a positive step towards gender equality on
campus while others criticized it as a discriminatory measure. To evaluate the effectiveness of
this policy, several female students receiving thesubsidy gave an account of how the policy has
affected them and their views on the issue.
To begin with, the announcement of the policy
was timed to coincide with the application for
entrance examinations so that more girls would
be enticed to apply for the University of Tokyo.
Among the three female students interviewed,
all three said that this policy had no immediate
impact on their decision to study at UT as theywould have applied anyway. Consequently, theeffectiveness of this policy seems marginal atbest.
On a fundamental level, it appears as if the policy
does not target the root cause of the dearth offemale students. When questioned about thereasons for the low number of female students,
all three female students replied that there exists
a societal perception that compared to boys,
girls do not have to attain high educational credentials to survive. As a result, most choose notto push themselves to enter prestigious universities. In contrast, this policy of rent subsidies
offers mainly economic support and may not be
sufficient to change deep-rooted social norms.

Another issue raised by this policy was the unfairness towards male students, especially those
who face financial hardships. Under this policy,
all female students who enrolled in April 2017
and whose home is more than 90 minutes from
campus qualify for rent subsidies, regardlessof their economic situation. A freshman from
Oita Prefecture felt that the rent subsidies may
go a longer way to help male students who arestruggling financially instead of female students
who may be better-off. Another freshman from
Miyazaki Prefecture felt that application for rent
subsidies should also be made available to malestudents who require financial assistance. Bothstudents expressed a similar sentiment that regardless of gender, deserving students should
not be deprived of the chance to study at UT
because of financial difficulties.
However, this policy had some positive impact as
it raised awareness of the gender imbalance inthe student population and affirmed parents’ decision to send their daughters to the University ofTokyo. The freshman from Miyazaki Prefecture feltthat the publicity surrounding the announcementof rent subsidies was akin to a “performance”,
and was effective in conveying the message that
the University hopes to increase the female student population. Furthermore, the freshman from
Oita Prefecture commented that most parents inthe countryside are reluctant to send their daughters to schools far from home. This policy of rent
subsidies encourages parents to consider allowing their daughters to pursue their studies in UT,
especially if they have the aptitude for it.
Moreover, to claim the rent subsidies, female
students are required to stay in a dormitory or

Female UT students studying in school. Photo by author.

apartment which has been shortlisted by theuniversity. A freshman from the Kansai region
remarked that this made the process of finding
a place much easier because she simply had tochoose from one of the options proposed by the
University. Additionally, female students and theirparents would have a peace of mind as all the
shortlisted housing meet strict criteria regarding
safety and security, such as earthquake-resistant
structures and security cameras.
The freshman from Kansai suggested that aside
from rent subsidies, UT should hold talks in various regions to promote interest among prospective female students. She stated that most girls
in the countryside do not even consider applying
for UT because they lack information on the
University and it feels out of reach. Currently,
the University of Tokyo does hold several such
events but they are simply not as well-publicisedas the rent subsidies. It seems that if the university is truly keen on increasing the female student
population, they should focus more efforts to appeal on the strengths of the university instead ofjust offering rent subsidies.

price is higher than that of homes (Japanese)

All the Housing Costs in Japan● 家 賃 (‘yachin,’ rental fee): Japanese word forrental fee. (Sometimes includes maintenancecosts & common area charge)● 敷 金 (‘shikikin,’ security deposit): for the purpose to repair the house in the circumstancesthat resident breaks something. Usually, residents charge once or twice the monthly rental
fee for security deposit. When the residents
finish the contract and leave the house, ownersubtracts the cleaning fee and gives the remainder back.
● 礼 金 (‘reikin,’ manner deposit): residents needto submit once or twice the monthly rental fee
for expressing gratitude to house owner. Unlike
security deposit, residents do not get a refundof this deposit even if they finish the contract.
● 管 理 費 (‘kanrihi,’ maintenance fee): monthly
charge made for maintenance on a property.
● 仲 介 手 数 料 (‘chuukai tesuuryou,’ brokerage fee):
residents need to pay a commission to realtors.
● 更新料 (‘koushinryou,’ renewal fee): renewal fee

Realtor at Shimokitazawa station. Photo by author.

for continuing the housing contract after thecompletion of the first contract.
● 連帯保証人 (‘rentai hoshounin,’ guarantor): to certify the identification of the residents, residents
need to have a Japanese guarantor who works
in Japan. If not, you can use a guarantor company to serve as your guarantor.
As explained above, the initial cost of renting ahouse in Japan is often about four or five times
the monthly rent. If monthly rent is 50,000 yen,
you need an initial payment of about 200,000
yen to 250,000 yen. The contract period is usually two years, but this contract period is not a
mandatory period. It does not matter if you move

without having completed two years. However, it
is customary to inform the owner about a month
before moving. Or else, you may not receive anyof the security deposit.
It sounds considerably difficult, but don’t worry,
we all have all gone through this. There are moremethods than I introduced above. Home-sharing
houses, share houses, private dormitories (unaffiliated with universities) are suggestions for avoiding these troublesome costs above and they arecompletely open for you. University of Tokyo also
supports you in language problem and guarantor
system for foreigners. By reading this article andgetting interest, you are already ready to start.

15

KOMABA CAMPUS
What’s Cookin’ in Komaba? The Highs and Lows of Shokudou Spinach

By Taiga Tase

What’s in a meal? A donburi in any other shapewould be as nourishing. So what bearing does
the source of the dining hall’s food have on its
ability to provide the hungry university studentwith the energy to get through another day? As
the host of the cream of the nation’s crop and a
kokuritsu state-funded university, The Universityof Tokyo has an obligation to responsibly source
the daily fare that fuels the student body.
Mr. Makoto Sasaki, the then head chef of the
UTokyo co-op dining hall, agreed to speak withthe reporter. Clad in a freshly ironed and pristinely alabaster shirt coupled with a utilitarian
black apron, he answered my question in an office tucked away behind the kitchens. Right off
the bat he told me that the Komaba dining hall
prepares very little locally; it is supplied from anational scale by the same co-operational thatstudents at such schools as Waseda and Keiorely on. In other words, very little sets our cafeteria apart from the other hundreds dotting theuniversity campus the country over.
Sasaki enthusiastically told me about an infrastructural development project underway inthe mountains of Thailand. A former marijuanaplantation, these fields now produce the spinachthat you may have eaten as part of a seasonal
vegetable dish. The proceeds from the harvests
are then re-invested into the community in theform of funding for the beleaguered elementary
schools responsible for educating Thailand’s
next generation. A group of students from theFaculty visit the village of Chiang Mai in northern
Thailand every year to help maintain the qualityof the fields and keep up with the community.
But of course not everything served in the dining hall comes from northern Thailand. Sasaki
pointed the reporter in the direction of the University Co-op website, which features ingredients and sources for every menu item served inour dining hall. The domestically-produced rice
was harvested in Hokkaido, while Australian flour
constitutes the ever-popular ramen.
Out of a statistically significant sample of thirty
randomly selected ingredients, twelve ingredients (40%) were sourced exclusively from Japan,
while an additional five (17%) were sourced either from Japan or another country. All told, thir-teen (43%) of the thirty sampled ingredients weresourced exclusively from abroad. Of particularnote is that none of the meat was domestic, being sourced from such diverse nations as Thailand, China, the United States, and Australia. In
contrast, Japan provides much of the vegetables
that add bulk and fibre to the dining hall meals.
So perhaps the UTokyo dining hall doesn’t fully
support domestic farmers and companies. That’s
understandable, however, due to the muchhigher price of Japanese meat despite controversial import tariffs. In lieu of providing kokusan-- domesticallysourced -- dishes,
UTokyo strives toleave a Japanesemark on the restof the world by
supporting distantcommunities thatwould otherwise
remain impoverished and discon- Pepper Steak Donburi. The ricenected from the was grown in Hokkaido, the potatoes in the United States, and theworld.
beef in Australia. Image by author.

End of an Era: UTokyo to Receive New Gym Facilities to Coincidewith Olympics, Fate of Campus Plaza Remains Undecided

By Taiga Tase

KOMABA CAMPUS, July 2017- Discussions
were finalized last month within the Sports Team
Association regarding the construction of modern gymnasiums to replace the aging Dai-ichi(No. 1), Dai-ni (No. 2), and Training Gyms. The
finality of the decision was indicated by an as-ofyet undisclosed budget being approved by the
University board.
Much of the discussion comprised of debateson the timing with which existing facilities would
be torn down; because the current gymnasiums
are used daily for compulsory physical education classes, they would need to be relocated orsuspended during the construction period. As ofJune 2017, plans call for pre-fabricated temporary
gyms to be placed in the area behind the library
while the new buildings are erected, according toa source familiar with the matter, who agreed to
speak on the condition of anonymity. To help easethe load, elements of the existing complex, mostnotably the Training Gym, are to be retained until
the after the new gyms are opened.
The three gyms also currently act as the meetingand practice locations for countless teams andclubs. Those teams unable to practice in the Training Gym will be forced to find such alternatives aslocal fields and privately-run gyms in the interim.
As it stands, the Cheerleading, Gymnastics, andBodybuilding and Weightlifting Teams - those that
hold practices in the Training Gym - are to remain
unscathed, but others are not as fortunate.
Yūma Matsumoto, a second year member of the
gymnastics team, expressed excitement for the16

new gym, complaining that the warped floors of
the current Training Gym make complicated flips
and moves difficult to practice. He personally
hopes for a new gym wherein his team will be able
to maintain an equipment setup on a permanent
basis; currently they must set up and disassemble
their equipment every time they wish to practice.
Planning for alternative practice sites following
the loss of the gyms appears to be progressing
slowly. Yōhei Kobayashi, a second-year memberof the baseball team who trains with his teammates in the No. 2 gymnasium, expressed that
he has no idea where to train while the gyms areunavailable. He is joined by Hiroki Wada, a firstyear who plays basketball recreationally in theNo. 2 Gym, as well as the captain of a team thatpractices in the No. 2 Gym, who wished to remain otherwise anonymous.
Those who have searched for substitute training spots have largely settled on the facilities ofother academic institutions. Those like the Kendo Circle led by second-year Kūta Nakajima will
increasingly utilise the local Komaba Elementary
School grounds, as well as private gyms. Wadaintends to use the facilities of the universities towhich his friends belong.
The students as a whole called for cleaner practice grounds, with Nakajima curiously being thesole voice calling for air-conditioning. Predictably, Kobayashi, who uses the gyms exclusively
for weight training, seeks fantastic new training
equipment. Dhriti Mehta, a first-year, finds the lackof cardio equipment unsatisfactory and hopes for

The exterior of the Training Gym. The dilapidated sign, formerly reading ‘トレーニング体育館 ’, now only reads ‘ イ育館 ’. Photo by author.

treadmills and ellipticals in the new gyms.
Plans for reconstruction of the Campus Plaza has,in contrast, been met with considerable resistance.
As the site of clubrooms for a variety of clubs
ranging from electronic keyboard enthusiasts tobroadcasters, it holds significant sentimental value
for generations of UTokyo students. This resistance is reflected in the school’s policies; althougha plan is in the works, no budget has yet been approved for a renovation of the Campus Plaza.
According to the same anonymous source familiar
with the matter, plans currently exist for the oldgyms to be torn down and ground to be broken
over the Spring of 2018. Construction is to becompleted in time for the 2020 Tokyo Summer
Olympics, and the Student Union hopes that the
new gym facilities will bolster domestic enthusiasm and may contribute to future UTokyo Olympians. The original Training Gym was built in 1963 asa training grounds for the 1964 Summer Olympics.
Currently no plans exists for the Martial Art Gym
and the Kyuudou (Japanese archery) Range,
dating from 1999 and 1987 respectively, to be
replaced or renovated.

PERSPECTIVES

Rise of Coded Da Vinci’s - Man vs Machine Divide in Art

By Hanna Hirakawa

be progressing; andthe conventionallyperceived gap inartistic competency
between humans
and machines closing. Or is it?
Much debate circulates when we
begin pondering theidea of technology
authoring artistic
works, independently of humans.
Are the systematically produced
works by these
Rembrandt brought back to life. The Next Rembrandt software processing programmed patterns
machines truly art?
onto canvas. Photo by ING. http://creativity-online.com/work/ing-the-next-rembrandt/46306.
In answering thisYou may have heard about specialized computquestion, one crucial criterion is originality. Origiers beating human chess professionals, but what
nality emcompasses creativity and authenticity.
about resurrecting Monet or Van Gogh? Today,
When one appreciates Van Gogh’s paintings,
the level of artistic abilities demonstrated by
we acknowledge the distinctness of contrasting
Artificial Intelligence (AI) programs are indeed
hues and heavily rough brushstrokes. This set ofmind-blowing. One such program called The
visual features is what separates the artist from
Next Rembrandt produces fresh artworks withhis contemporaries of the Impressionist Era anda Rembrandt-esque style, almost mistakable
distinctly signifies his. And furthermore, theseas an original. The program is fed digital visualdifferences do not simply derive from studying
information and trained to recognize the artist’s
differences and simultaneously gaining inspibrushstrokes, palette, and other distinct patterns
ration from existent artworks. Distinct styles
that characterize Rembrandt’s painting style,develop from each artist’s unique perception ofaccording to the official page. Essentially, thethe real world, emotional experiences, and evengoal of the mechanical brain is to generate new
personality. Currently, AIs’ creations is heavily
pieces when it is given minimal instructions of abased on the systematic analysis of existing past
theme.
works, as is evident from The Next Rembrandt.
In other words, although the content itself is enHowever, AIs aren’t only resurrecting great painttirely new, there are no intended themes or mesers. Other programs like Emmy (EMI), whichsages behind the piece. Hence such works cancomposes music, and Kimagure AI Project
be described as merely rearrangements of used
Sakkadesunoyo, which writes short stories, arecolor and textural structures, lacking in meaning
also AIs being put to test in the arts field. Ador emotional drive. And so if we were to defineditionally, Google Brain Team has developed
art based on originality in these terms, computerMagenta, a project which aims to create an algoproduced works wouldn’t make the qualifications
rithm that produces “compelling art and music.”for “true art.”
Moreover, the project is intended to connect experts from a wide variety of fields including codHowever, the meaning of art itself seems toers, researchers, and artists during the process,be evolving, emerging out of the conventional
according to Douglas Eck, a research scientist
boundaries. Professor Simon Colton, the founderworking on Magenta. Taking all of this in mind,of a creative painting software called The Paintthe potential skill of machines in the arts seem toing Fool, believes in the potentials of machines

in the arts field. He strongly believes that robot minds are capable of exhibiting creativity,
equivalent to that of humans. Interestingly, his
idea of art transcends the artist’s body. “You canimagine a child doing exactly the same thing assoftware,” Colton explains. “[B]ut people project creativity onto the child and not onto thesoftware, because of the context.” According tohim, just as the definition of creativity leads todiscussion, the meaning of art is highly subject
to debate. He sees this as an opportunity tobroaden our scope; he approaches the idea ofart challengingly as he continues working on thedevelopment of The Painting Fool, which can
now self-criticize, learn from past failures, and independently set itself a goal, and display its own
personality.
Colton’s thoughts may be right. As AI technology
increases its level of autonomy, we will marvel at
the human-like machines and, simultaneously,
may feel a bit disturbed. Beginning with Ray
Bradbury’s There Will Come Soft Rains, the nonhuman advancing to the human level in performing skills and eventually replacing humans has
been a repeatedly addressed theme in culture.
Today, the concern feels ever more close as
movies depict these machines in human form. If
machines can do the same, why need humans
to do it? This is a jarring question, especiallywhen it comes to the arts, which many may havelong assumed to be human’s specialized field.
The answer is not an easy. However, what we doknow now for certain is that it’s still a long ways
before machines develop emotions and cognition based on real life experiences. And we canrecognize the value of human-made art based on
the emotional energy and drive that compels us
to express our inner selves.

The Dancing Salesman Problem. The Painting Fool software
applying motional patterns of the human body into fluorescent scenes. Image by The Painting Fool software.
https://www.newscientist.com/gallery/painting-fool/.

Photo by Xuan Truong Trinh.

17

Kintsugi: The Art of Forging Meaning in Brokenness

By Eugene SongMy Mom loves ceramics. It was, and still remains
paramount among the artistic passions she acquired, polished and eventually lost throughout
the years. To her, an old and seemingly blandpiece of Fine China teacup, carefully wrapped innewspaper and tucked away in an unseen cornerof the dressing room, means much more thanjust a utilitarian demitasse. It’s an appreciation ofher unique aesthetic palette, and more dearly, ahomage to her mother, who helped her cultivate
her love for aesthetics.
I believe however that over the years, our family’s
frequent migrations between South Korea and
New Zealand added a new layer of meaning to
my Mom’s love for porcelain.
Right upon our first arrival in New Zealand in thewinter of 2003, one thing became clear to me;
My Mom, despite the endearing demeanor she
displayed in my presence, felt sadness. She waseven pained by it. I found my Mom in the storage
room, silently weeping, holding shattered piecesof one of her Villeroy & Boch Knife Plates - notthe most exquisite piece of her collection, but acherished one; it was my grandmother’s dearest.
South Korea was, for the most part of my Mom’s
life, the soil that cultured her relationships withher family and friends. I too was scared of having
to break with the old world - there was a strong
sense of permanence about it. My friends back in
Korea would remain together, intact, strengthening
their bonds while I would deviate from our onceshared trajectory. If, however, breaking with an oldworld meant leaving behind permanence, my Mom
had all the more reasons to be melancholic.
Despite her efforts to protect her ceramics- cherished symbols of the past - the impermanence of life seemed too substantial for thefragile plates to bear. Looking back, I think thebroken plate reminded her of the inevitable fragility of life. While immigration means the perma-

nent settlement in a new world, it also means thepermanent departure, or breaking, with the worldthat was once familiar.
So, 13 years later, when I first encountered
Kintsugi - the Japanese art of mending broken ceramics with lacquer resin, mixed withpowdered gold - I was inclined to explore. Was
there an artistic way of viewing the world thatembraced the inevitable fragility of life? I waseager to learn a means of expression that could
illustrate, poetically and subtly, the paradoxicalstrength of brokenness.
Within the millennia long history of lacquerware,
Kintsugi reportedly began in the 15th century.
Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa, unsettled by thepoor repair techniques of his age, encouraged
Japanese craftsmen to develop a more artistic method of repairing ceramics. The repaired
products turned out to be more beautiful thanthe original ceramics, garnering appreciation forthis new art form.
Underlying this aesthetic aspect of Kintsugi
however is a philosophical contemplation of‘impermanence’ - most likely originating from theJapanese philosophical tradition of Wabi Sabi.
Wabi Sabi is a worldview that embracestransience and imperfection - commonly represented through Japanese
zen gardens - rather than glorifying
permanence and perfection.
Instead of seeing cracks as irreparable flaws or reasons to disposethe ceramic, Kintsugi embraces
them as undeniably unique momentsin the history of that ceramic, adding
more meaning and value to its existence.
In truth, throughout our many more migrations between New Zealand and Korea, my Mom
continuously engaged with her past, reflecting
upon the cracks in her history, reminding me thatthe forging of meaning and identity largely depends on the narratives of our personal histories
that we tell ourselves. Her narrative found beautyin brokenness.
Whether it be in counseling peers or engaging
in long overdue chats with old friends, Ernest
Hemingway’s quote, though admittedly takenout of context, “the world breaks everyone”
somehow always rings true. Regardless of eachand every individual’s unceasing strive towards
perfection and permanence, everyone, in someminor or major way, succumbs to breaks andfractures in their personal narrative of life.
However, “and afterward many are strong at thebroken places” - the latter part of Hemingway’s
quote - is equally resonant and compelling whenever I am reminded of my mother and Kintsugi.
To predicate the countless breaks and reconciliations in life - with people, the past or entire worlds- on the foundation of honesty, vulnerability, graceand vigor became our common understanding.
Indeed, even when broken, we are always intact.

Tea bowl, with gold lacquer Kintsugi repair work, 16th century. Ethnological Museum, Berlin. Wikimedia Commons.

Japanese Speakers Find it Hard to Find English Easy?

By Takuma Furukawa

I’ve always wondered why most Japanese native
speakers are not good at speaking and listening
to English. I belong to an international interaction
circle at The University of Tokyo called TGIF, andI feel that among non-native English speakers,
especially Japanese speakers including myself,
seem to have a preconceived idea that they are
not “up-to-par” with native English standards.
I began to consider the underlying possibilities
for this phenomenon and how Japanese people
could overcome this and learn to speak English
with confidence and fluency.
One of the reasons they find speaking English
hard is related to how most Japanese people view
English. Almost all Japanese people learn English
for a minimum of 6 years, during junior high andhigh school, but what they learn is mostly gram-

18

mar. Those English classes test students on theirgrammar knowledge, which makes them afraid ofgrammar mistakes. This attitude towards English
makes them think of it as a skill which should bestudied as a subject, as opposed to a way of expressing oneself. Although English is a languageof communication, most English teachers nevertouch on the subject of pronunciations and intonations. Therefore, most native Japanese speakers
have a strong inferiority complex regarding theirpronunciation and are sometimes strict towards
others’ pronunciations - which can be seen by theunsupportive comments on videos of a famous
personality messing up when speaking English.
On the other hand, if you try to pronounce words
correctly (not with a “typical” Japanese accent),
you will often be laughed at and seen as someone
trying too hard or showing off. In these situations,it’s really hard to find English easy and interesting.
Then what is the way out?
To uncover the “big secret” to answering myquestion, I decided to speak to non-native English
speakers who were also non-Japanese citizens. I
wanted to see how foreigners dealt with this typeof situation. When questioning two PEAK students
at the University of Tokyo and a student from
China studying at the University of Illinois, I was
surprised by the results. The resounding reply wasthat they studied English primarily by listening inclass at school, by watching English-speaking
television dramas, and talking to native English
speakers. In fact, what they learn in school does
not differ much from what is taught at Japanese
schools. I wanted to know more about the secretto their confidence when speaking a language

PERSPECTIVESJK Business… Not a Joke

By Jessica Ge

The land of sushi, anime, and cute high school
girls. This is the image that Japan stereotypically exudes to the rest of the world. Walking
through the streets of Harajuku, high school
uniform costumes are just as common of a sightas the well-known maid outfit. Akihabara boasts
a huge number of cosplay cafes, among whichhigh school girls, or joshikousei ( 女子高生 ), are themain focus. Japan’s idol groups, such as AKB48
named after Akihabara itself, and anime are also
stellar examples of the extent of popularity the
joshikousei image holds in Japanese culture.
Bright colours, high voices, and cute smiles; it’s
all fun and games, until someone gets hurt.

In the past year, the human rights and ethicsof the whole scheme has been brought to theattention of both local authorities such as theTokyo Metropolitan Police Department (MPD)

and the international community,
such as within the
United Nations. The
A stall displays a variety of youngA typical street in Akihabara, young girls dressedsexually exploitative
looking cartoon girls in swimwear,
as maids (left) can be seen advertising a maid café
exemplifying a high demand for this(right).
Photo
byauthor.
nature of JK busisort of image. Photo by author.
nesses in Japan has
been likened to human sex trafficking and a form
their new municipal ordinance which has comeof child exploitation, which is heavily frowned
into effect July 1st. However, Dr. Muta points out
upon. However, is enough action being taken?
that this paints the root of the problem to be thegirls taking part in these businesses rather than
Many people just do not seem to see it aspenalizing the men having sex with high schoolan issue. Photographer Yuki Aoyama, whose
ers. In addition, these stricter regulations may
Instagram account is fittingly named “schooljust “push these activities underground” andgirlcomplex”, claims that it is just business.
therefore further endanger the girls, says Jun
Furthermore, a freshman from the University ofTachibana, founder of not-for-profit Bond Project
Tokyo commented that the lack of strong oppothat aims to support young women experiencing
sition is because it has been this way for so longproblems such as sexual abuse.
that nobody really acknowledges it as an issue.
Furthermore, unlike some western countries,
Tachibana reinforces the point that these girls
such as the United States, where the sexualisaare still children and that help should be targetedtion of young children, which could be construed
towards providing emotional support for girls who
as child pornography, is heavily frowned upon,feel cornered either from domestic or school-rethis culture is widespread throughout Japan.
lated problems. In an interview with “FIT (Financial
The openness of this joshikousei fetish blurs
Industry in Tokyo) for Charity”, Tachibana discussthe line between the potentially harmful aspects
es this project and how it operates. The projectof this culture, and makes it difficult for Japafocuses on talking to girls either in person, if theynese people to both recognise and deal withencounter a vulnerable looking girl in the streets ofthe problem. At the same time, it is also difficult
Shibuya, or online by making themselves widelyto differentiate between benign and malicious
known and easily contactable by showing up on
businesses. Establishments like maid cafes areinternet searches when someone types phrases
seen as comparably safer as young girls may sit
like “I want to die” or “I want to disappear”.
with customers, but only in a non-private shareddining area and strict rules prohibit any form ofAnother example of actions which focus on thephysical contact.
social difficulties that make girls vulnerable to the
JK business, is the “Watashi-tachi wa Kawareta”
Nonetheless, recent action looks to close down
( 私たちは買われた ) exhibition by Yumeno Nito. This
these establishments, reports Tomomi Abe fromname translates into “We were Bought” and aims
The Asahi Shimbun. Approximately 190 JK busito make viewers aware of sexual exploitation andnesses exist in Japan, and in the past year theabuse that girls in the JK business face. FurtherMPD has taken to raiding these establishments
more it aims to erase the myth that girls join theand interviewing the girls. Furthermore, JapanJK business with a light heart and simply for exToday reports that Tokyo’s Metropolitan Governtra pocket money or boredom. It aims to expose
ment looks to ban under-18 JK businesses withthe disturbing reality of the entire operation.

other than their mother tongue.

student from Hong Kong.

Towards the beginning, they felt embarrassed when
they could not speak English fluently, but theylearned to overcome their unease and fears andpracticed to improve their English. Now, they all
feel confident that they can express their thoughts
and communicate under most circumstances.

Surprisingly, Zach Lin, a student from the University of Illinois, said, “I can’t say I’m very confident
in English, even now, since it’s still not easy for me
to follow the speed of native speakers.” A common theme, as I’ve discovered through my survey,
is that non-native speakers of English start off embarrassed when making mistakes in English. The
difference, though, is overcoming that fear - that
nervousness - and actually trying to put yourself in
those situations to improve your language skills.

Along with the deep adoration of joshikousei
comes the more controversial ‘JK business’, inwhich joshikousei is abbreviated into JK. The JK
business refers to dating services which match
teenage school girls with men, often in theirlate 30s to 50s. The levels of service range fromtaking a walk with them while holding hands;
modelling for pictures in school uniforms, swimsuits, and the like; and in many cases to sexual
services, in a sense, prostitution, according to
Anna Fifield from The Washington Post. Reasonsfor such a high demand for young high school
girls could be due to Japan’s strangely low age ofconsent of 13 years old, which is at the lower end
internationally. However, it is important to notethat factors such as financial burdens and emotional difficulties are what ultimately pushes girls
into this business. Osaka University’s professorof Sociology and Gender Studies, Kazue Muta,
suggests that Japan’s patriarchal society creates a “mentality that the young and seemingly
innocent are valuable and more alluring.” Thereis a sense of forbidden attraction that allegedly
makes school girls more sexually attractive.

“I often make mistakes when I first learnt English, and my friends would laugh at me. But I
was glad I brought them happiness ... having theenvironment to speak English and learning it in a
fun way is quite important,” said Huang Zihan, afemale student from Beijing.
“My mother has always been trying to encourage
us to speak in English,” said Lam Yi Nok, anotherIn conclusion, there are three main points we canlearn from: First, in order to learn to speak English, we should practice conversations more outside of school by watching dramas, listening tonews, and talking especially to native speakers of

Studying English at school. Photo by Betty Thang.

the language. Secondly, every one often feels embarrassed when he or she first learns a language.
However, they can work to overcome it by accepting that mistakes might be made and that it ismore important to move past that embarrassment
and keep on practicing. You require “thick skin” tolearn to speak a language. Finally, confidence inEnglish varies from person to person, but with theright amount and type of practice, we can learn toconfidently communicate in any type of situation.

19

Why White ‘Works’ Right:
White Privilege in Japan in the Employment Sector

By Dhriti Mehta

there is always the so called ‘special treatment’
given to the ‘Gaijins’, the Japanese word for foreigners. Interestingly, this behavior of Japanesepeople towards the foreigners contributes to theoverall issue of white privilege.

Teaching in Japan. Photo by Angie from Chiba, Japan | Wikimedia Commons.

‘A Caucasian Craigslist’: sample advertisements from Craigslist, Tokyo. Image edited by author.

“It’s the 21st century and I thought none of it
mattered anymore… until I came to Japan andstarted being treated as a demi-god, just because of the color of my skin!” said Dave*, a25-year-old JET teacher from Canada.
White privilege in Japan is indeed the unspoken
reality.
There has been much discussion around theworld about the privileges Caucasian people
tend to receive in contrast to the treatment given
to people of other ethnicities. Unfortunately, this
topic has not been actively covered by the media
in Japan even though it is a hot topic for foreigners in Japan.
Being a foreigner in Japan in itself gives a uniqueperspective into this sea of homogeneity, wherein

Six out of the ten Japanese people who weresurveyed in Shibuya said that the first image thatcomes to their mind with the term ‘Foreigner’ isthat of a White Caucasian in their late 20s. Thisis quite surprising since the official facts andfigures tell a different story. According to theannual immigration statistics published by theGovernment of Japan, foreigners in Japan are
predominantly from China and Korea with a totalof approximately 9 million, a figure which is overnine times the number of American travelers entering Japan in 2015. However, this does bringus to the understanding of how the Japaneseview foreigners.
A young university student from India currently
studying at a university in southern Japan had
an interesting story about his application to an
English Language school as a part-time teacher,a job for which he got rejected while his Germanclassmate got selected. The surprising factor hereis that even though the Indian, a native speakerof the English language, got higher points on his
English proficiency tests wasn’t given the job
because ‘he didn’t look like a native speaker unlike the German boy’. In the blunt words of the
Director of the English Language school, “people
would prefer learning English from a man who iswhite”. It is also common to see advertisements
for English teachers on Craigslist (Tokyo) also
often explicitly state their strict requirement of‘Whites apply only!’This attitude of believing in a supposed superiority of the Caucasian race, suggests the basis ofdiscrimination towards other races. This behavior
is most often revealed in employment. Most Eng-

lish language conversation cafes, bars and evenrestaurants prefer to hire only Caucasians.
Even in the Japanese entertainment industry, it is
intriguing to see mostly white people being hired
as models and actors. On questioning one suchmodel recruiter, Shutaro, it turns out that thereason why most companies want to hire Caucasian models is because their presence arguably
makes their product seem ‘more international’.
Katerina*, a Russian immigrant, also had a similarstory. She came to Tokyo two months ago and iscurrently hired as a hostess at a hostess bar in
Shinjuku. Her club has a strict policy of only hiring white women in their early 20s, predominantly
from East Europe and other Western countries.
These are not stand-alone incidents. White
privilege in Japan is witnessed too often in everyday life and not just limited to the case of
employment. The idea of racial equality specifically in times of globalization has only recently
been introduced in an otherwise predominantly
mono-ethnic Japan. Over the years this has unfortunately resulted in making people ignorant orincompetent to deal with the fast-growing multiethnic country Japan is on the path to become,
especially in light of the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
The first step towards finding solutions is toactually open up the discussion on ethnic equality in Japan which has been avoided for far
too long. The need of the hour is to encourage
culturally informative and ethnically stimulating
discussions in order to forge an accepting andeventually appreciative multi-ethnic workforce
in Japan where employees are not subjected todiscrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity.
*Some names have been changed to protect theprivacy of individuals.

Enter University to Work?

By Sachiko Kawano

Nearly 80% of the students in Komaba engaged insome kinds of part-time jobs in 2014, according toBalance study and part-time work. Photo by pixabay.

a survey conducted by the Student Life Research
Office of the University of Tokyo, and some ofthem spend most of their free time working. Some students even seem to prioritize earning money over taking classes. Is
this what students dreamed of when they
entered university? Although it may benecessary for students to take on parttime jobs to make a living and to earnenough pocket money, we sometimes
need to reflect on our lifestyle and makesure that the original aim of university
education is scholastic pursuits.
The survey carried out in 2014 revealed
that about one third of the students
started working out of need. One PEAK

20

student said that scholarship is not enough tocover the cost of living in Tokyo, where commodity prices are relatively high. Another student who
is already busy with his swimming club activities
juggles multiple part-time jobs because he needs
money to attend competitions and to hang out
with his teammates.
Gaining real life experience from outside work
can also be their motivation in addition to financial necessity. Many students serve as acram school teacher and private tutors; teaching
children often helps with their own studying andimproves their knowledge. Even working for
an industry that is not related to their major oracademic interests could be a good chance toexperience the world. One student advancing

PERSPECTIVES
Bi: Expanding Art and Gender

By Eugene SongWithin the fast-paced, quotidian routine of lectures within UTokyo’s scholarly atmosphere, art
may seem ambiguous, and often times, underappreciated. One however only needs to catch aglimpse of students practicing their dance choreographies in front of the cafeteria, or overhear the
resonating harmonies of student choirs to realizethat artistic expression is very much present in
Komaba campus. Among the most animatedmanifestations of students’ passion for art is Bi( 美 ): a series of creative talks - a team of students
that facilitates discussions on art by inviting artists from the contemporary Tokyo art scene.

second featured artist. As a DJ and the founderof ‘Bae Tokyo’ Jayda B noticed that “not only
were there no female DJs, but the environmentsin the club scene were not made for the wider
gender spectrum.”On April 14, 2017, Bi successfully completed
its eighth chapter, ‘art and gender’ on Komaba
campus. The session was full of vital conversations that reconsidered notions of gender andexpanded the meaning of art.

During the session, Takeuchi showcased herlatest project AS.PHYX.IA - a cinematic blendof choreography, music and motion capture
technology. Inspired by the powerful conceptof a “mother in a battlefield,” the film explores
themes of struggle, isolation and maternal love,
thus, refuting ingrained gender stereotypes that
underestimate women, while unapologeticallyembracing femininity and its strengths.

“I will begin by speaking from my own perspective as a female musician” said Maria Takeuchi,
the first featured artist. As a multi-instrumental
music producer, Takeuchi started off as a bass
player, when she realized that “there weren’t
enough established female artists I wanted tofollow in new media art and music production.”
Takeuchi confessed that she often found herself“underestimating female artists, comparing themto male artists.”
A similar realization was shared by Jayda B, theStudents watching the behind the scenes
video of Maria Takeuchi’s latest artistic project,
AS.PHYX.IA. Photo by Abhishek Gupta.

The commonalities between the two featured
artists however, were not only limited to realization. Using their respective experiences of gendernorms as sources of artistic inspiration, bothartists developed novel ways to express the challenges and complexities of gender, as well as theirconvictions for how society should treat gender.

As well as its focus on gender, Jayda B’s Bae Tokyo expands the boundaries of art. Rather thanlimiting itself to a single genre of art, Bae Tokyo
provides a platform for the junction of music andevent management, supporting “djs and artists
regardless of race, ethnicity and sexual identity.”

However, one should consider the disadvantagesof doing part-time jobs as well; for example, ittakes a large amount of one’s time and energy.
Personally, I became a teacher at a small local
cram school first and then began working for a
baseball stadium several months later. It took awhile to make up my mind when applying for thestadium job because the idea that the main missionof a university student is studying and not working
flit through my mind. At the end, my curiosity andadmiration for the service industry overcame my

The discussions did however gravitate towards
femininity, despite the more intricate and larger
theme of “gender.” Sitaram emphasized: “aswonderful as our speakers were, the session did
not fully encompass the magnitude of a topic likeart and gender. Crucial to any discussion on gender is to take note of intersectionality, the malepresence, those who don’t subscribe to genderroles or labels at all, and the list goes on.”On the other hand, this focus on femininity
exemplified the fluidity of art, as well as Bi itself. Rather than giving unilateral lectures, Bi
facilitates a discussion-friendly environment.
Participants come in with uniquely rich sourcesof artistic and moral contemplation, and interact
with each other. “As such,” said Sitaram, “thedirection that ‘art and gender’ could have gonein is entirely dependent on those who attended,their backgrounds, perspectives and so on.”

It was during the discussion, when the audience
voiced their personal insights,
that I realized the often unnoticed intimacy of art inour lives. While the topic ofgender is often discussed inpurely academic contexts atuniversity, it can (and should)
also be approached throughart and open dialogue. Indeed,“art does intersect seemingly
every avenue of our lives,”
DJ and founder of Bae Tokyo, Jayda B.
said Sitaram. “It is important
Photo by Abhishek Gupta.
to embrace that”.

“As a woman myself, it is always so empowering

Multi-instrumental artist, Maria Takeuchi.
Photo by Abhishek Gupta.

to the Faculty of Medicine recently began working at a café in addition to her job as a private
teacher because she does not want to becomea doctor who is medically literate but ignorant of
how society works.

to hear about the process and journey of other
women in their craft and work”, said Manasa Sitaram, founder and former chair of Bi. “What I reallyappreciated about both speakers’ crafts is the inherent skill involved. In a world where the consistent rhetoric of women is labelled, ‘emotional’, itis wonderful that all our guests not only embraced
that label but also backed it up with legitimate,
hard skill. Who says women can’t do it all?”hesitation, and I decided to take on that job.
A male student on a scholarship from his local
municipality thinks that he should rather spend
time taking classes and doing assignments thanwork part-time. He said that he wanted to show
his feelings of gratitude to those who support him
by his academic achievements. He felt sad to seesome of his friends delight themselves in earning
more and more money and devote themselves totheir side business so heavily that they eventually
started to cut classes. As many senior students
and working adults have told me, those who did
not study much in university like his friends often
realise later in their career that they missed precious opportunities to learn specialized knowledge, which we cannot obtain in our daily life.

Reasons for taking on part-time work and theextents of the need for earning one’s money are
different from one person to the next. Therefore,
it is unwise to simply declare whether working
is beneficial to students or not. One thing thatis clear from interviewing these students is that
overdoing part-time jobs never make things better and it is important to balance your learningand working. One senior student in the first yearof the master’s program said to me, “I experienced various part-time jobs and they did me
good, but I sometimes regret that I should havetaken classes more seriously and studied harderas an undergraduate. Knowledge that you think
will not be useful might become important inyour future research, so don’t miss your precious
opportunities to improve yourself.”21

Locating Japanese fashion throughthe windows of a Swedish brand’s Shibuya StoreBy Eugene SongReminiscing its humble beginnings as a small
scale denim producer, the Swedish fashion house
ACNE Studios released a new denim line named
Bla Konst. The surprising catch however is thatits first physical store is located in 1-10-8 Jinnan,
Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan; a considerable distance from the brand’s roots in Stockholm.
What made ACNE Studio’s announcement
unique was the ostensible irony; the brand’s decision to germinate the first seed of its kind in Japan ran counter to the brand’s heartfelt purposeof retracing its Swedish roots. Yet, a visit to the
Bla Konst store in Shibuya somehow dissipatedthe incongruities, highlighting the global appeal
that Tokyo - specifically, the fashion centers of
Shibuya, Harajuku and Aoyama - maintains forfashion brands and consumers.

ACNE Studio’s new Denim Line (Bla Konst) Store in 1-10-8Jinnan, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan. Taken by author.

In the 1970s, the center of Japanese fashionand youth subcultures shifted from Shinjuku to
Harajuku/Shibuya. The area’s proximity to Bunka
Fashion College ensured a constant stream oftrendy, experimental styles. Fashion publications like FRUiTS Magazine publicized these new
trends, directing global attention towards Harajuku. The level of fervor was indicated by “pedestrian paradise” (Hokosha Tengoku): the policyof closing down the long stretch of Omotesando
from cars on Sundays, in order to allow fashion aficionados (usually around 10,000 people)
to freely mingle. Throughout the 80s and 90s,
Shibuya and Harajuku became the intersectionof fashion, photojournalism and youth subcultures, embodying a magnetic allure for all typesof styles and audiences.

distinct but simplistic elements of the blue floor,
metallic furniture, white walls and red staircase
seem to echo the Japanese (and Scandinavian)minimalist’s message: “less is more”. Leaving theshop to reconnect with the bustling atmosphereof Shibuya, previous skepticism turned into a
conviction that the brand’s decision to launch
its new denim line in Tokyo was somehow right.
The symbolic opening of the Bla Konst store
suggests a new Japanese fashion culture in themaking - one that seems to be a unique mixture of Japanese particularity and global trends.
ACNE Studios, in its efforts to retrace its roots,
seems to have ironically, but surely, shed light on
the continuously evolving core identity of Japanese fashion: a novel mixture of elements foreignand domestic, mainstream and non-mainstream.

In 1998, “pedestrian paradise” came to an end,suggesting to some that Harajuku/Shibuya had
lost its appeal as a fashion hub as well as a powerful public realm for Japanese youth subcultures.
The increasing presence of mass production
brands and foreign fashion houses - often portrayed as antagonistic trespassers, threatening
the sanctified realm of rebellious Harajuku youth
subcultures - augmented skepticism about Harajuku’s distinctive colors, and hence the uniqueness of Japanese fashion in large. Many fearedthat Japanese fashion would be subsumed underthe broad, vague category of ‘global fashion’.
On the contrary, these changes also suggested
the culmination of global recognition of Japan’s
fashion culture. After all, what we today consider‘essentially Harajuku’ fashion is a hybridity of distinctly western styles and the unique interpretations of Tokyo’s fashion design students.

Yet, a change in trends can leave a bittersweet
aftertaste. With the accelerating pace of changein Tokyo, directly witnessing the entirety of Harajuku dressed in the youth subcultures’ tribal
outfits seems like an impossibility: a relic of thepast, only accessible through old magazines andimages. A sense of betrayal seems to have been
the underlying emotion that made some people
declare that Harajuku is now “dead”. Simultaneously however, to impose perpetuity in an art
form that strives on ever changing trends seems
equally, if not more unfaithful. While inclusive of
the past and future, fashion, by its definition, is of
the present moment - a fact that the pioneers of
Harajuku fashion understood. Those visual relics
were, after all, attempts to capture the present,
transmitting a message that those people were
there at that specific moment.

The Bla Konst store seems to embody this mixture of seemingly disparate elements. The store,
located between Shibuya and Harajuku, at theheart of Tokyo’s fashion retail scene, is on thefirst floor of a surprisingly unassuming officebuilding - the only indicator of its presence being the brand’s poster and a light blue neon signthat reads: “WE ARE HERE”. This theme of contrast is carried throughout the store, where theWhile it may be unreasonable to expect the complete resurgence of old subcultures, expecting
new subcultures, influenced by those trends in thepast, to emerge is perfectly reasonable. Perhaps,
the Bla Konst store’s light blue neon sign, which
attracts the eye much more than the brand’slogo on the glass door, is a reminder of fashion’s
simple truth. A statement that asserts the present
in all its complex creativity and influences, acrosstime, space and people: “WE ARE HERE”.

Does Higher Education Make People Dumber?

By Miya Huang“Todai...you must be so dumb. Everyone in Todai
is dumb.”

Does higher education really makes us smarter?
Or does it actually make us dumber?

This was the reaction of a ramen shop master
when he found out that I study at the Universityof Tokyo. Of course, the master was just being
humorous and meant no harm. However, I find
truth in his joke when I reflect on it.

From a personal point of view, higher education
can make a person dumb in one good way andtwo unpleasant ways.

I believe I have grown substantially both intellectually and as a person since starting studies
at the University of Tokyo. Some of my originalideas have been reinforced, some have beenremolded, and other new ideas are continuously
formed. I feel as if I am getting smarter. But, am I?

22“How can becoming dumb be a good thing?”
you might ask. I would say, higher education
makes a person realize that everyone is dumb
relative to the unlimited knowledge in the universe. Hence, one would stay humble. Thereis a famous Chinese idiom saying that “A manof great wisdom often appears slow-witted”.
The philosophy behind is quite complicated. In

short, it means that a wise man does not show
off his ability to the full extent to prevent being
schemed by others out of jealousy. Dumbness, isthe ultimate state of wisdom in this idiom.
The first unpleasant scenario is when higher education over-facilitates the feeling of inferiority fora student. It is easy to get drowned in the oceanof knowledge. In university, you might realize
everyone around you is so much smarter thanyou, and passing all the subjects is no longer aguarantee even if you were a straight A student
in high school. Students lose their confidence
when comparing to one another. Though thefeeling of inferiority is inevitable and fosters per-

PERSPECTIVES
Addressing Negativity Towards “Kikokushijo”

By Anna Matsuo“I don’t like kikokushijo.” Some local Japanese students are frank about their opinions on
kikokushijo. When I ask why, a typical answer
might be “because they didn’t struggle to learn
a language. They never had to study to become
fluent.” That every kikokushijo learned theirsecond language naturally and did not struggle,
I believe, is one of the many major misconceptions and stereotypes about kikokushijo thatmust be addressed on our college campus andby the Japanese society at large.
Kikokushijo ( 帰 国 子 女 ) is a Japanese term forJapanese children who lived abroad for a periodof their life (most likely due to their parents’ business assignments) and since then have returned
to Japan. As globalization races forward andJapanese companies send more and more employees overseas, the number of kikokushijo, or
returnees, have increased every year.
I, myself, am a kikokushijo. I was born in Chiba
prefecture, and moved to the United States when
I was six years old. Just last autumn, I moved
back to Japan to attend PEAK at The Universityof Tokyo. Thankfully, I have not yet met anyone
who has been particularly hostile to me becauseof the fact that I am a returnee-- especially asa PEAK student who doesn’t have too muchinteraction with local students, I dodge the riskof meeting those who may hold biases against
kikokushijo. But recently, I learned that there are,in fact, many kikokushijo that are ippansei ( 一般生 ;students on the local-student track) at The University of Tokyo and other universities in Japan.
I had the opportunity to speak with them about
the biases and negativity kikokushijo face, andhere are three reasons and arguments for why ippansei supposedly dislike kikokushijo, along withsome counterarguments from our perspective.

1. “Kikokushijo like to show off.”

Some local Japanese people feel that kikokushijo
are trying to show off when we speak about ourtime abroad or mix English words and phrases inour conversations. As, J, a kikokushijo student
at UT says, “in Japan, not many people are bilingual so when you are able to speak English you
are seen as special, different, and sometimes

sonal growth, it can lead to hostility, depression,
insomnia and even suicide if the feeling rises exponentially and is not managed properly. College
can drive you crazy, or even kill you by making
you feel dumb.
The second unpleasant scenario is when higher
education over-generates the feeling of superiority. There are students who find courses too easy
for them and think the professors and classmates
are not on par with their standard. Some people
often say deep philosophical things and feel as
if they are smarter than others. Their ego implies
that they have not yet attained the wisdom in
simplifying things. A truly intelligent person can

Kikokushijo look just like local students - so what is it that’s
different? UCL Institute of Education | Flickr.

privileged.” But the truth is, sometimes we really
don’t have anything else to talk about from ourchildhood, or we can’t remember some words inJapanese. To take these actions as “showing off”
doesn’t seem fair to us. After having grown up in
two or more cultures, kikokushijo hold a multicultural identity. Much of the way we speak and act
were picked up while growing up abroad. Hence,
our actions are sometimes seen as unnatural to
the rest of Japanese society. Despite the factthat we identified as Japanese when we wereabroad, we are suddenly considered unnaturalin Japan. An understanding that we are not trying to “show off” when we talk about our times
abroad would be greatly appreciated.

2. “Kikokushijo get into University
more easily than local students.”

Kikokushijo are thought to have “cheated” thenormal entrance examination process because
they have a completely different (westernized)
admission process, which is supposedly “easier.”
Maybe we didn’t spend hours every day at acram school to prepare for the center examination or entrance examination for 3+ years,
but we, too, did study hard for our respective
standardized tests such as IB, SAT/ACT, andCBSE/JEE (standardized tests in India). Not only
were we expected to do well on those tests, we
needed to have a near-perfect GPA in school andhave participated in many extracurricular activities to even be considered admission. Ippansei
should not easily say “kikokushijo don’t haveto be as smart as us to get in.” One admission
process is not easier than the other. According toProfessor Yujin Yaguchi, Director of the Globalization Office and professor in the College of Arts
and Sciences, it is unfair to judge kikokushijo by
applying standards of Japanese high schools,

and although the idea of a different admission
process is to diversify the student body, that
does not mean kikokushijo are any less than theippansei academically. “Students are obsessedwith the entrance part,” he said. “It doesn’t
matter how you got in, it’s how you perform.”
Students should have faith that the university
will choose students fit for the academic level ofthe school, and stop internalizing the admissions
myth. From a faculty perspective, there is no
obvious difference in academic levels betweena typical ippansei and a typical kikokushijo, according to Professor Yaguchi.

3. “Kikokushijo didn’t struggle to learna second language.”This is just not true at all. Of course, I admit that
I had it easier because I went overseas when
I was a first grader, which meant that my academic and linguistic starting point wasn’t too far
behind that of the American kids’. But for otherreturnees, it wasn’t as easy. “Since I went to livein the US for the first time when I was a junior inhigh school, I couldn’t understand what teachersand my friends were saying at first,” a kikokushijo student in the ippansei track, H, recalls. For
her, the language barrier was just a part of thecultural barrier. The language and culture barrier
can affect even a gregarious and eager student
who likes to interact with their new surroundings.
They may struggle to understand grammaticalor cultural differences in connotation that comenaturally to a native speaker. Thus, cultural immersion can be both a blessing and a hardshipto overcome for kikokushijo.
By addressing these stereotypes, I hope thatthe local students will come to understand thatkikokushijo are not immune to hardships and are
not trying to brag about their English/past experiences abroad. As H says on the topic of admission, “I believe that everyone has had different
kinds of hard times…So I don’t think it’s reasonable to conclude which is harder or smarter.” It is
not reasonable to compare kikokushijo and local
students’ educational and cultural backgroundwith the same standards. The important thing,
then, is to shed light to those differences and understand where the individual is coming from.

explain the most complicated concept to an illiterate person. A good writer is capable of writing
thousands of pages, yet writing skill is determined by whether a writer can present his/herideas in a concise manner. Usually, these selfsatisfied students feel superior and tend to lookdown upon those who are inferior by their own
biased definition. Their self-appreciation can prevent them from getting the most out of education.
Neither inferiority nor superiority can make us
dumb in a good way. The key is finding a balance
between the two, which will guide us to becoming a person of great wisdom who appears to bedumb.

Hopefully, higher education can guide us to become a personof great wisdom who appears to be dumb. Photo by Galaxy fm.

23

Feeling More Love in the Air on Campus

By Anna Matsuo

There are about four male students for every female student at the University of Tokyo. UTokyois still notorious for its low female enrollment,even after having increased from its all time lowof 16% in 2012. The unfortunate phenomena
can be attributed to many things, but the primaryfactor is the stigma that girls who attend the
University of Tokyo can’t find boyfriends because
boys will be intimidated and feel threatened bytheir intelligence. This unfortunate discrimination is reflected in the university student circles
that prohibit UTokyo girls from joining. I haveheard that even in circles that allegedly allow
female University of Tokyo students to join, they
don’t receive the correct information on meeting
places and dates. There is definitely a perceptionthat intelligent girls aren’t sought after.
How does this affect the dating scene of theuniversity? After having lived in the United States
for most of my life, my first surprise was that the
University of Tokyo seems much more conservative— there is no hookup culture like American
universities. In a 2015 survey conducted by the
Cabinet Office, it became clear that nearly 40%
of single males in their 20s and 30s aren’t looking for a relationship. Since about a decade ago,
the term “herbivore men ( 草 食 系 男 子・soushokukei danshi)” has been used to describe men who
have no interest in getting into a relationship.
So, if some boys are herbivorous and some boys
want to find girlfriends that go to women’s colleges instead of fellow UTokyo students, where
does that leave us UTokyo girls? I interviewed
two female students, two males students, andone female professor on their opinions as to whythat is.

F1 : April-entry student, single
F2 : PEAK student, in a relationshipM1 : April-entry student, single
M2 : April-entry student, in a relationshipP : female professor

Do you think UTokyo girls, or the younger
generation girls are interested in dating?

Do you think that UTokyo boys prefer girls
from other colleges? If so, why? What kind ofgirl is desired by UTokyo boys, in your opinion?

F2: Yes, yes. In my circles and clubs, that makes
up 90% of the conversation. Because they can’t
find guys in University of Tokyo but would like to.

F1: I don’t think that’s necessarily true. There isthat image because UTokyo boys have a hardtime finding opportunities to interact with UTokyo
girls compared to girls from other universities.
There are plenty of UTokyo girls who are pretty,
and I hear of many class couples.

M1: Yes, yes, yes! Humans are animals. Animals
have instinct that they want to pass on theirgenes. You have to get in a relationship to dothat!

F2: The image of UTokyo girl is “studious and not
fashion forward”… in the worst terms, not very
lady-like— which is not true. But because of thatimage, boys go towards the women’s universities
that have the image of being lady-like and making wonderful wives.
M1: I don’t think they prefer girls from other colleges. UTokyo boys date girls from other universities because there are no nice girls left in UTokyo. Mostly, UTokyo boys are shy, so extroverted
and friendly girls are desired.
M2: I don’t think so. It’s true some UTokyo boys
prefer girls from other colleges. One of the reasons is these girls are more used to something
like dating, so it’s easier to date them than with
UTokyo girls. But the main reason why some
UTokyo boys date girls from other colleges is because there are a limited number of UTokyo girls.
They just want more chances to date girls.

F1: Yes! All of my friends (girls) and I talk about
this!

M2: Yes. UTokyo girls are interested in dating aswell I think.
P: I see some articles and advertisements thatencourage younger women and men, but particularly women, to start planning their future as
early as possible—future as in family planning.
I don’t know how those campaigns have been
received by real young women but I can see thistrend.
Would it be hard for UTokyo girls to find aboyfriend in UTokyo? How about other colleges, in general? How would they find suitableboys?
F1: I think UTokyo girls will have a harder time
finding a boyfriend outside of Tokyo during theirtime in college. This is because college boys
might not like that their girlfriend is smarter. UTokyo girls should expand their social life by joining
circles and committing to those circle activities.

Can’t Curry On!: Deconstructing the Myth of “Indian Curry”

By Dhriti Mehta

It is evening time and the sun is about to set.
The students have returned after a long day ofclasses and are looking forward to the food they
will be eating tonight. I squint at the saucepan inwhich I have been simmering vegetables for the
past ten minutes. “Hmm, maybe this needs more
spice”, I think to myself. And then suddenly- I
hear footsteps. Lo and behold, my worst fear as
an Indian living abroad is about to come true. I
hear someone creeping up behind me and before
I can cover my ears which are pained by hearing
these words every time I am in the dorm kitchen,
the person behind me exclaims,“Are you making Indian curry!?”
A little back story now. I have lived in India andeaten Indian food all my life, so when I first cameto Japan and heard from all my friends whocome from different parts of the world about thisdelicious food known as ‘Indian curry’, I was surprised as to how I never came across it. Excitedto try this oh-so-oishii (the Japanese word fordelicious) dish, I went with my friends to Shibuya

24

to try out ‘Indian curry’ at their favorite Indian
restaurant. And boy, was I disappointed.
Indian curry, as it turns out, is just about anything
and everything which looks like Indian cuisine
to the world outside of South Asia. Therefore, if
you ask any South Asian who has no experienceof living abroad, don’t be surprised if they don’tknow what you’re talking about.
Historically coined by the British who colonizedIndia, curry was a word they coined in lieu of
make remembering the names of individual
dishes redundant. While this practice was convenient for people outside of South Asia who did
not have to worry about pronunciations and thedaunting task of remembering names, today it
has become a problem for South Asian cuisine
as it is threatening the very diversity and identityof our food and culture.
Another widely held belief which bothers mostIndians living abroad is the question posed almost every time we mention food. “Oh, do you

eat curry and naan every day?”The short answer is no.
As for the long one… as a Japanese person, haveyou ever been asked if you eat sushi every day?
Or as an Italian, questioned if all your three meals
consist of spaghetti? Well, you have your answer.
In order to understand what we do not eat, youalso need to understand what we do eat on adaily basis. However, it would be wrong to pointout one definite set of food items, as the typicalIndian meal differs across the length and breadthof India. While North Indian meals consist of
cooked vegetable or meat dishes, a kind of dal(lentils and pulses) and roti (flat bread), South
Indian cuisine has more rice and coconut-based
dishes such as Dosa, Idli, Vada and Uthappam.
To understand some basic differences in thekinds of “curry”, let us take a look at the threemost commonly found dishes on the menus ofIndian restaurants.

PERSPECTIVES
F2: A lot of them go outside of UTokyo or datewithin their class. They don’t branch out muchout of their class or circles. There’s not really a
way to interact. I think the best way is to join
more things (on campus) and not be scared totalk to guys.
M1: It is easier for UTokyo girls to find a boyfriend in UTokyo than for girls in other colleges
because there are plenty of good boys left in
UTokyo like me (haha). I don’t know about otheruniversities.
They could find suitable boys through maybe 逆
ナン (gyaku-nan: short for gyaku-nampa, which iswhen a girl hits on a guy)?
M2: It’s not hard at all, rather easier to find UTokyo boyfriend than in other colleges considering
the balance of girls and boys in UTokyo. As for
how they could find suitable boys I don’t know….
Do you think girls shy away from applying toor enrolling at UTokyo because of the worry
that they won’t be able to find a boyfriend or
maybe even a husband in the future?
P: Yeah. That kind of stereotypical image has
been spread, unfortunately. My male colleagues
aren’t like that because they treat me as theirequal, but maybe to young people or men outside of academia, highly educated women are
intimidating.
F1: Yes, I also thought about that, but I decided
not to be worried because I know there are female graduates of UTokyo who have gotten married and have families .

Dal (Lentil soup)

WikiCommons (for all three).

Dal is the most commonly found everyday dish ina North Indian meal, usually for lunch and dinner.
There are various kinds of Dals made from different lentils. A popular choice in restaurants is Dal
Makhani, a delicious and creamy preparation ofwhole black lentil and red kidney beans.
A common and honest mistake is to name the Indian dishes as a repetition of their translations. Examples would be “Chai tea” which literally translates to “Tea tea” or “Naan bread” which is “Bread
bread”. The use of the word ‘curry’ is similar to thispattern, and is quite redundant and generic when
added to the above examples (Dal as Dal curry).

F2: I think there are
two types [of girls]—
those who don’t careabout relationships
and focus on theiracademics/careers
and then those whoare more focusedon the well-rounded
academic and relaBoth male and female students at the University of Tokyo seem to be interested in having relationship balance.
tionships… what keeps them from it? Flickr | Creative commons.
If they know they
aren’t going to work in the future, they might
If you are currently dating, how do you maingo to uni to find a partner or to have fun. They
tain a balance between schoolwork and yourmight go to Tonjo (Tokyo Women’s University) or
relationship?
Ponjo (Japan Women’s University) because there
are a lot of circles that are between students
F2: Studying together. Also, spending time infrom those two universities and UTokyo guys forgroup settings with other friends at school.
meeting potential partners.
M2: I’m not balancing between them at all. I’m
M1: It is not only a problem within UTokyo. In
just crazy about hanging out with my girlfriend.
Japan, intelligent women tend to be avoided.
Spending time with my girlfriend is my number
Japanese men want to protect their partners inone priority.
stinctively, so men do not want women to be superior to themselves. I think some girls hesitate
These are the real voices of people at the Unito apply for UTokyo because they know womenversity of Tokyo. After hearing the opinions of theintelligent enough to enter UTokyo are not popufour students and one professor I interviewed,
lar.
it’s become clear that 1. male students of University of Tokyo would be more than happy to
M2: I think so. They are definitely worried about
date female students also attending University
whether they could have a boyfriend or a husof Tokyo, given they actually find someone theyband in the future, but if they are capable oflike, and 2. although UTokyo girls have an image
passing the UTokyo’s entrance examination,of being studious and unconcerned about relathey’d prefer entering UTokyo even taking thetionships, some are, in fact, looking for romance.
risk of being single in the future because being a
If circles were more open and unbiased towards
UTokyo student helps them much better in other
UTokyo girls and classes were accepting of inthings such as their careers.
class relationships, there’d be a lot more love in
the air on our campus.

Murg Makhani/Butter Chicken

Roti/Chapati

Navigating through this list of dishes may seem
like an arduous task, but to truly enjoy Indian
cuisine, one must also acknowledge and be respectful to the cultural value and variety in thenames of the dishes rather than maintaining unawareness as an excuse for culturally ignorance.
Although times have changed and the world is amelting pot of culture, we must also realise theimportance of stopping to recognize and appreciate individual cultural differences. So now put
this new found knowledge to use and head overto the nearest Indian restaurant to enjoy the delicious cultural experience that India has to offer
to your taste buds.

No one is a stranger to the delight which is Butter Chicken. As one of the most popular Indian‘curries’ in Japan, Butter Chicken is a spicy andtangy take on cooked chicken. Instead of calling
it a chicken curry, it is simply known as Butter
Chicken.

Naan is most often eaten in restaurants by Indians too, whereas Roti, a round wheat-based flatbread is the staple bread in North Indian meals
at home.

25

EXPLORING JAPANA World Beneath Your Feet

By Jessica Ge

It is estimated that some 40 million people in Tokyo use the railway system in their daily commute.
For these passengers, the existence of ekinaka ( 駅中 ) are an everyday sight. Ekinaka, literally translated as “inside the station”, is the term used forthe shopping malls found inside train stations.
In the early 2000s companies like Japan Railways (JR) began to expand the commercial
benefits of train stations and take full advantageof their vast underground space. Tokyo train stations now contain a myriad of stores selling food,clothes, souvenirs, books, plants, homeware, thelist goes on. These can be accessed from virtually anywhere above the ground, as the streetsof Ginza, Shinjuku, and other popular areas are
littered with train station entrances.

Train station goers take some time to shop
at one of ekinaka’s many shops. Photo byauthor.

It’s common for daily commuters – businessmen,
students, everyday city-goers – to stop by at oneof many cafes, restaurants, or bakeries for a quick
snack or meal on their way home. In some cases
travellers may also find themselves going to a
train station with the specific purpose of eating acertain dish. As Dhriti Mehta, a PEAK freshman at
the University of Tokyo, points out, “Sometimes
I will go to Tokyo Station just to eat at this vegan
restaurant found only in Tokyo Station.” The restaurant in question, T’s TanTan, is particularly popular among vegans in Tokyo having trouble finding
completely vegan dishes. This goes to show thatwhile an ekinaka may be a simple conveniencestop for some, it can be a destination for others.
However, money-wise, shoppers looking for

The steady stream of train station goers
contrasts with ekinaka restaurants offering apause in their busy lives. Photo by author.

a good deal might find themselves looking inplaces other than in ekinaka. Takuma Furukawa,a sophomore at the University of Tokyo, commented that clothing shops in train station shopping malls are more limited in choice and higher
in price, driving him to shop elsewhere – above
ground perhaps. Furthermore, the abundance ofsouvenir items in train stations indicate that atleast some aspects of ekinaka are more targeted
towards gifts-on-the-go.
So next time you’re at a loss about where to eat
or where to explore, look into Tokyo’s train stations and see what they have to offer. Whether
you’re looking for food, books, or just cool things
to look at, these ekinaka are bound to havesomething in store for you.

The daily rush in Shibuya train station.
Photo by author.

The smell of freshly baked bread draws inmany travelers. Photo by author.

Surprising Findings Underground

By Hanna Hirakawa

Senju Hiroshi’s Waterfall, an exhibition captivating visitors on the go. 2017. Photographby author. Tokyo.

Close up view: Softly lit Waterfall
whisks viewers to a mystical world.
2017. Photograph by author. Tokyo.

Tokyo is famous for its numerous cultural and art
museums, but who would have thought to findsome underground?
For commuters in Japan, the most common
mode of transport is the public train system
operating both above and below ground. Maneuvering through these packed stations can be
an exhausting drag during rush hour, especiallyin the morning. However, some of these stations
show a different face during other hours of theday, when intense human traffic subdues. Thechange is something art lovers would definitely
take delight in.
Imagine passing by an entire wall of displayed
artwork on your way to school or work. Well,
this actually exists in reality; immediately stepping out from the Takashimaya direction ticket
wicket at the Shinjuku-sanchome station, you
are greeted by Hiroshi Senju’s Waterfall, a vast
image of the original painting. Wandering tourists
and businessmen on the way home stop by totake in this stunning view. The curious exhibition

26

continues on at other subway
stations of the Fukutoshin and
Ginza lines. At the Nishi-Waseda station, you will be awed
by Akira Yamaguchi’s Figure ofUnderground Railroad, a brilliantly illuminated masterpieceof stained glass. Even throughthe late night hours the artwork
glows with a soft golden light,
welcoming home those wholive nearby the station.

Each artwork imbues each station with a distinct ambiance, but why showcase them underground, let alone at subway stations of allplaces? The artistic displays are managed by
the Metro Cultural Foundation (MCF), a separate
entity branching from the transportation-runningTokyo Metro system. This organization manages
the Subway Museum and supports other public
events such as the Metro Concert and Metro
Cultural Exhibitions. Their goal is to contribute to
the lively culture of Tokyo and in effect, to enrichpeople’s daily lives through music, art, traditional
culture, and etiquette education.

Souun Takeda’s Hope exhibits energy with a modern taste.
2008. Photo by Tokyo Metro Co. Tokyo.

So, what was their aim in installing these artworks? According to MCF, the purpose behindeach artwork or series differ. Some of the works
are distinguished more so as “public art” andthus seem to place less emphasis on their creators. The previously mentioned Figure Underground, Kei Amatsu’s Fly to the Universe at thesame Nishi-Waseda station and Kenji Yoshitake’s
Sunny to Rain to Sunny at Kita-sando station
are categorized as such works. Other stations
feature pieces that clearly mark the artist’s style,providing viewers a rare opportunity to appreciate art of well-known artists. Among such works
are the Waterfall and Souun Takeda’s Hope, anenergetic work of Japanese calligraphy.
Therefore these days, hopping onto the subway
is an alternative way to enjoy art in this busy city.
Anyone who is up for a unique art museum experience or simply for an underground adventure
can grab an all-day metro pass and be on the go.

Akira Yamaguchi’s Figure of Underground Railroad welcoming
visitors with a soft glow. 2008. Photo by Tokyo Metro Co. Tokyo.

Yayoi Kusama’s Eternal Soul

By Lexa Brieck

Stepping into the exhibit is a journey into a worldin which reality and fantasy blur, wherein polka
dots and vibrant colors create a maelstrom of
emotion and sensation. The National Art Centerof Tokyo in cooperation with TV Asahi and The
Asahi Shimbun is currently displaying Yayoi Kusama’s “My Eternal Soul” exhibit until May 22, 2017.
The exhibit presents nearly 80 years’ worthof Kusama’s creations. What sets this exhibit
apart from many of her previous ones is the factthat one of Kusama’s most recent collection ofartworks, “My Eternal Soul” – a series of 132
paintings starting in 2009 – have never before
been showcased. From ceiling to floor, fantastical patterns and depictions of the human faceare painted across every surface. Looking at thepaintings from a distance, some of the shapes
and patterns seem to be floating above the rest.
Stepping closer, it is clear to see that they are illusions created by contrasting colors and cleverpatterns. In the center of the exhibit room stands
three sculptures. At first glance, they seem tobe brightly colored flowers. Stepping closer, one
is able to see eyes protruding from the inside of
the flower. Kusama is known for her polka dot
artwork as well as incorporating eyes into manyof her pieces. These patterns stem from her
upbringing. Kusama was born in 1929 in the

Nagano Prefecture. She grew up in an abusive
household and had problems with her womanizing father. At the young age of ten, she began
to have vivid hallucinations and transferred theseimages over into her artwork.
Moving into the next room, the ambience completely changes. Instead of the brightly coloredpainting and sculptures, one sees paintings created during and depicting the World War II period.
The room’s lighting is dimmed and much of thepieces lack the sense of vitality and excitementthat her more recent works instill in the viewers.
The exhibit creates a timeline of her life. Kusama
describes her childhood as an “adolescence[spent] in closed darkness” as she was required
to work in a military factory during World War II,
sewing parachutes for the Japanese army. Moving from dark, grayscale paintings, the next roomshows the period of Kusama’s life in which she
became obsessed with “self-obliteration” (covering
herself and other objects in polka dots or matching patterns and attempting to fade into the background). She was studying in New York City during 1957-1972 where she gained reputation for her“self-obliteration” works and as an avant-garde
fashion artist. The rest of the rooms in the exhibit
continue in such a pattern: a chronological showing of Kusama’s artwork throughout her career.

The National Art Center, Tokyo, Flower Sculpture in Kusama
Exhibition, Photo by author.

One “must-see” at the exhibition is Kusama’s
Mirror/Infinity rooms. From a bright, sunlit hallway, visitors enter a darkened room. At first, it
is hard to see anything at all. Then, lights hanging from the ceiling turn on all at once. Mirrors
cover every surface in the room. With reflections
bouncing in every direction, it is like a neverending Christmas illumination show. Walking
through that room is like floating through spacewith thousands of stars.
The exhibition contains many other fascinating
creations. From sculptures of boats and an infinity mirror ladder to paintings of pumpkins andvideo art, there is much to appreciate. By visiting the exhibition and seeing firsthand the worldof illusionary artwork stemming from Kusama’s
hallucinations, you might experience a shift inyour perceptions of reality and fantasy, leading
to an understanding of how personal expression
can create everlasting representations of our life
philosophy – our “eternal soul.”

What makes you international

By Cameron Lam

A few decades ago, Japan used to be the strongest country in Asia. It is however now overtaken
by China in economy and by Korea in show business. Many people argue that this is because
Japan failed to internationalise; a proof would be
the establishment of international programmes
like PEAK at university level in recent years. As astudent, I offer my discoveries so far of Japan’s
global elements in Tokyo during my first year ofstay.

●MusicOne does find the presence of music from othercountries in Japan. The most distinct and recognisable form would probably be the song choices
at karaoke. Japanese karaoke offers a massive
range of song choices. From Chinese to Korean toEnglish (sometimes German and Italian, too), they
cover three of the world’s largest music industry.
Also, all songs come with subtitles in the original
language with katakana phonetics. That means if
you are Japanese you can sing along with all thesongs available at the karaoke. As someone who
frequents the karaoke with multinational friends(Japanese, Korean, English, German…), we always have a good time as one of us sing in theirnative tongue while the rest of us form a backing
choir by following the katakana awkwardly. Moreover, Japan is usually included in internationalmusic tours. Coldplay visited Japan in March2017 and Ed Sheeran in November. Even theworld’s DJ festival Ultra comes to Japan annually.

●Art

Of course, you will find samurai armours, katana,available at your fingertips awaiting for you to
explore. All information is avaiable on the Japan
Times website among other places: http://www.
japantimes.co.jp/events/categories/art-guide/
Featuring events from “The Art of Disney” to“Mannequin History Exhibition”, surely you willfind your cup of tea.

●DrinkingMori Art Museum’s homepage

noh theatre masks, ancient scrolls and scripts
at the Tokyo National Museum. But Tokyo hasmuch more than traditional Japanese art for ye
refined spirits. The popular Ghibli Museum in
Mitaka contains your favourite Ghibli charactersand models. This museum provides an alternative to art enthusiasts who are searching for
artworks outside of the realms of fine art andclassical pieces.
The Mori Arts Museum in Roppongi keeps its
exhibits fresh by changing the theme every few
months. Out of my two visits there, I was lucky
to have seen artworks about “the space” andpaintings of different styles. The first exhibition
featured artworks from around the world and art
from as early as 16th century, expressing the artists’ interpretation of space. The second exhibition features paintings from 16th to 18th century
Central Europe. Referred by the museum as “Old
Masters”, artists like Ruben and Titian are introduced to the audience through their work.
An ongoing stream of events in Tokyo is always

Japan most certainly surprised me with its varietyof liquor and the incredibly cheap price. A walkaround Don Quijote or BIC Camera will have you
dazzled by shelves and shelves of liquor withaffordable prices. Vodka from Poland, whiskey
from Taiwan, wine from Germany… Japan offers
a liquor experience that you would not expect.
Japan is the heaven for amateur bartenders whowant to try out recipes. Be it a special liqueur ora liquor of specified origin, Japan has them all.
As a whiskey fan, Japan has definitely amazedme with its whiskey collection. One can purchase
Scotch in Japan with a price comparable if notcheaper than that in Scotland. Coupled with its
local whiskey industry, Japan offers a unique andglobal drinking
experience.
Caution though,the drinking age
in Japan is 20,
which is older
than many foreign countries.
A small whisky collection (all bought in Japan). Photo by author.

27

Why doesn’t my Japanese make sense?

By Shoko Sano

Even as a Japanese person in Japan, when you
visit a different place, you sometimes confront
the situation where your word does not makesense to people there or you get something
completely different from what you imagine forthat word. One of the reasons for this miscommunication is that there are different dialects inthe country, and the same thing can be said inseveral ways. It can be confusing and can sometimes cause problems between you and them.
Here are examples of such words and multiple
meanings the words have.

1. Name of plasterAll images from Wikimedia commons.

This is an indispensable plaster that you turn towhen you get injured on your leg or finger. Surprisingly however, this has six names in Japan.
They are called ‘Sapio’ in Hokkaido, ‘Kattban’ in
Tohoku and the west of Japan, ‘Bansoukou’ incentral Japan, ‘Bandaid’ in Kanto (Kanto plains)and Kansai (Greater Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe area),‘Kizuban’ in Toyama, and ‘Libatape’ in Kyushu.

2. Shoes students
wear at school
These types ofshoes are used by
Japanese elementary
school students at
school and these areindoor shoes (which

may one of Japanese culture; when people goinside the classroom or house, usually theychange their shoes to the inside ones or takethem off.) that children have to wear. This has
two names.They are ‘Uwabaki’ in Kanto, Chubu,
Chugoku, the south of Shikoku and Kyushu, and‘Uwagutsu’ in Hokkaido, Kansai, and the north of
Shikoku and Kyushu.

3. The content of ‘Egg Sandwiches’

IIn Kanto, tamago (egg) sandwiches have scrambled egg in the middle, but in Kansai, in the
middle you’ll findboiled egg saladwith mayonnaise.
So when you ordera tamago sandwich in Kanto, youwill get somethingwith salad rather
than egg.

4. Tanuki for your noodles

Usually, people associate the word ‘tanuki’ tothe animal because tanuki means raccoon dog
in English. In Kanto, otherwise, when used at in asoba noodle shop, it means soba noodle with notopping except for
tempura scraps.
The origin is thatthe word ‘tanuki’
got shortened
from the word
‘Tanenuki’ in olddays which literally means no toppings of tempura.

On the other hand in Kansai, tanuki means soba
noodle with deep-fried tofu for the topping.
In Kansai, theword ‘Tanuki’ forsoba noodle isused for the distinction from thew o rd ‘ K i t s u n e ’which literallymeans udon noodle with deepfried tofu.

5. What’s difference between ‘Shirataki’ and ‘Ito-konnyaku’?

Both words indicate the samething, but thenames are different in Kansai andKanto.
In old days, in
Kanto, people
dissolved Konnyaku-powder with water andmade it formed into strings . They would havecalled it ‘Shirataki’. On the other hand, in Kansai,
people cut plate konnyaku into strings of konnyaku. They used to call it ‘Ito-konnyaku’.
‘Shirataki’ and ‘Ito-konnyaku’ originally have indicated different food, but now they both show
the same thing which is the Kanto version.
These different types of Japanese are just examples. We have different cultures or history
even in the single country, so both Japanese andforeigners should be flexible and acceptable tothat fact at communications with others.

RUN. TOKYO. EXPLORE.

By Miya Huang“The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his
passion for adventure. The joy of life comes fromour encounters with new experiences, and hence
there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly
changing horizon, for each day to have a new
and different sun.”-Christopher McCandless (hiker)
This is my favorite quote.
Unlike a lot of the foreign students in the University of Tokyo, I did not come to Japan to study
because I was a big fan of Japanese culture
such as anime, manga or tea ceremony. Indeed,
I came here because I knew nothing about thisplace. The idea of living in a completely foreign
place sounded exciting to me. Since I think of
my college life in Tokyo as an adventure, both
physically and mentally, I decided to explore thismysterious city by running since the first week
I arrived here. Compared to walking, running to
explore is quicker and makes one feel more like a
local instead of a tourist. With that slight increasein adrenaline level, you decide which way to turnbased on your gut feelings instead of your travel28

book or Google map. Moreover, it is a great way
to relieve stress and freshen one’s mind. Runningis my way to find inspiration. Here are some of
the interesting incidents that happened during
my runs.

Story 1: Soaked up in the Rain

It was my first run to Shibuya. That night, myfriend and I decided to venture into the crowds
unplugged. Originally, we planned to go andcome back the same route. However, a dark,
mysterious alley intrigued us and threw us off
path. Along that alley, we saw a lot of family-stylerestaurants, izakaya (Japanese-style bar) andlove hotels and ended up on a busy street with
no idea of where we were. Then, all of a sudden it started raining buckets. Empty handed,
we could not count on Google Map. Our only
option was to ask. The problem was, both of us
were novices in Japanese. All we could do wasto keep asking “Komaba-Todaimae wa doko deska” (“Where is Komaba-Todaimae station?”) to
random people on the street. However, we did
not understand 90% of the things they repliedin Japanese and actually ran further away fromhome. In fact, we asked eight different people,
including a policeman, before we finally got
home drenched from being caught in the heavy
rain for two hours. Getting lost in heavy rain in an
unfamiliar city was certainly an interesting experience. It was my first time to get in touch withlocal Japanese people. Not sure if I made a goodfirst impression looking like a drowned rat.

Story 2: Run for Cookies and Karaoke

One time me and my friend were running along
the street opposite to Harajuku station. A banneradvertising “karaoke for free cookie” caught ourattention.
“We can definitely do this! We’ve run for 20 minutes already, now I’m ready to sing and eat!” said
my friend. So, we went in. The staff said we caneither sing one song together and get a small
cookie each, or we can sing solo and get a hugecookie each.
“So, if we sing individually first and then sing one
together, we can get a big one and a small one?”“No, you can only get one cookie, but you cansing as many songs as you want!” said the staff.
Fair enough. Free karaoke with one piece ofEXPLORING JAPANJapan’s Dirty Little Secret

By Bobby Wen

How much do you know about the toilet habitsof the Japanese? In the land of the old, new andsometimes outright weird that is Japan, toilets
are a lot different from your usual western style
toilets.
Toilets in Japan are split into two kinds-Washiki,a traditional Japanese style ( 和式 ) and Yōshiki ( 洋式 ), which is deemed western style. This article
will explore all you wanted and maybe neverwanted to know about toilets in Japan.
The first washlet was introduced by the Toto
Company in the 1980s. The growth of thewashlet industry coincided with the bubble
period of the Japanese economy, explaining
their widespread prevalence today. Introduced
in 1997, the Toto Washlet Zoe was listed in the
Guinness Book of Records as the most sophisticated toilet in the world. Fast forward to today,
the Toto Washlet Neorest 600 is considered oneof the most advanced toilets in the world, boasting many advanced features and costs up to$5000 USD. One is even said to be owned byAmerican actor Will Smith.
Nowadays, a whopping 81.2% of Japanesehouseholds are installed with western style sit
down toilets, according to a study conductedby the Cabinet Office of the Japanese government. What makes them different from toilets
commonly found in western countries, however,is the presence of the high-tech “Washlet” ( ウ ォシュレット , washuretto). For those who don’t know,
the washlet is an attachment often found on
Japanese toilets that have a vast variety of functions, most popularly the “bidet”. It also usuallywarm chewy cookie, what more could we haveasked for? What is the purpose of running? To
eat more! That’s the spirit!

Story 3: Bumped into a Party“Holy moly! Tomorrow’s Halloween Party, what
are we going to wear?” my friend kind of freakedout a bit when she realized Halloween was a day
to go and she had no costume to wear.
“Let’s run to Shibuya to get costumes!” I said.
Running to Shibuya the day before Halloween
was probably the worst idea ever. It is just likevolunteering to get squeezed into pulp. Starting from around October 29, Shibuya would
be occupied by people dressed in Halloween
costumes at night, and eventually become amassive street party on the night of Halloween.
We did not even need to walk, because the massive crowd composed of “zombies”, “Tenga”,“President Trump” et cetera pushed us forward.
Although our running plan was destroyed, we got
out costumes and accidentally walked in one of
the grandest parties in the world.
Running is a quick and exciting way to get tocomes with other high-tech capabilities such as
deodorising, seat warming, front bidet wash anddrying. The Otohime, Japanese for Goddess ofSound, is usually found in women’s toilets, whichmimics the sounds of flushing to disguise theactual sound of toilet use.
When I first came to Japan, I did not understandthe purpose of washlet as I thought that the water which washes the behind came up from thetoilet water. I did not get why people would wantto soil themselves with the dirty water from thetoilet. However, what actually happens was that asmall pencil size nozzle is protracted out from thewashlet and shoots water from a 43% angle thatprevents the water from splattering back onto
the nozzle. It is also has a self-cleaning function
which washes the nozzle and the bowl with electrolysed water for further comfort of the mind.
Talking with my Japanese friends, the biggest
secret I uncovered was how few of them used
the washlet regularly despite their widespreadexistence. I had imagined that given their prevalence, every Japanese people must have beenusing the washlet on a regular basis. Keita Arimitsu, a 4th year at UTokyo, is a staunch advocate.
He says that “ he loves it and cannot live withoutit.” Others, however, rarely use it and some havenever tried.
Statistically speaking, a sample study conductedby Ioex Co., 67.7% of the Japanese people responded that they use or have used the washlet.
However, another study showed 40% usually do
not use the Washlet. This is especially true when
it came to public toilets, as results showed only

know the soul ofa city. Sometimes
things go wrong andyour plans will havean unexpected turn,but I can guarantee
the joy you gained
from this surprisewill trump thatgained from youroriginal plan. Just
like in life, the best
memories is often
not something weplanned, but something unexpected.
Time to grab yoursneakers, get out ofyour comfort zone
and see where yourfeet will lead you to!
Trust me, you will
never expect what
you will run into.

A traditional squat toilet.
Photo by Chris73 | Wikimedia Commons.

A squirting washlet. Photoby Chris73 | Wikimedia Commons.

A japanese toilet
function. Photo by
Chris73 | Wikimedia
Commons.

9% would use the functions in a public toilet. Of
those that do not use the Washlet, the top reasons cited were that toilet paper alone seemedenough, as well as the fact that it seems unnecessary. What is interesting is that of those who do
not use it, 64.5% believed that it was unhygienic.
Women, in particular, were more likely to express
concerns over the cleanliness of the nozzle.
Whatever your toiletry habits are, using a Washlet
in Japan is definitely a cultural experience not
to be missed. I for one am glad that there is awarm seat to greet me every time I sit down. It
just makes the whole experience, well, a little bit
more enjoyable.
Did you know? The Japan Toilet Association
celebrates an unofficial Toilet Day on November
10, because in Japan the numbers 11/10 (forthe month and the day) can be read as ii-to(ire),
which also means “Good Toilet.”

1

2

3

4

1

One item checked on my bucket list of Things To Do Before You Die - “getting lost in heavy
rain in Shibuya”. Image by Moran Brenn.

2“Cookie Monster” in Harajuku - the cookie shop we discovered during our run. Image by author.

3

Trying out Halloween costumes after “running” to Shibuya. Image by author.

4

Running can relieve stress, freshen one’s mind and help find inspiration. Image by author.

29

Pizza in Tokyo: The Hidden Gems of Shibuya

By Ela Bogataj Stopar
Finding pizza in Tokyo is difficult.

At least finding reasonably sized, reasonably
priced pizza available relatively near Komaba
campus is. With prices for deliveries from popular
restaurant chains usually ranging above ¥1500
and mini pizzas sold in cafés hardly accounting
for an adequate lunch, European-style pizzerias
are somewhat of a rarity. However, as a European
in Japan, sometimes looking for a break fromtraditional Japanese meals, I also find them tobe a necessity. Based on recommendation fromother PEAK students and my own experience,
I embarked on a journey through the streets of
Shibuya to find three excellent pizzerias.
On the basement floor of Shibuya-Ekimae, there
is an easily missed restaurant by the name of
Miami Garden. Even on a Saturday afternoon,

the comfortably small room wasn’t crowded andthe wait before the meal wasn’t long. The menu,
available in English as well, offers a choice ofabout ten different kinds of pizza priced between¥1100 and ¥2000 – amounts that I have foundto be the standard in the kind of restaurants I
was looking for in Shibuya. Drinks, on the other
hand, were surprisingly expensive with fruit juices
costing above ¥700, in spite of the fact that theycame in the usual quantity of 200mL and were
not exceptionally delicious. The ham and rucola
pizza was quite tasty, although I missed the presence of cheese on the soft dough; turns out, if it’s
not explicitly listed on the menu, the topping isprobably not there – regardless of the somewhat
deceptive photographs that can be found on
the menu. Miami Garden is a perfect choice forspending time with a small group of friends, or
having a rest after a shopping spree in Shibuya.

When circumstances call for a pre-exam stresseating escapade, an American-style buffet called
Shakey’s is the place to go. An all-you-can-eat
lunch or dinner menu for an adult costs about¥1100, including pizza, pasta, salads, and drinks,
all of which come in varieties; in particular, it
is with the pizza that the cooks get the mostcreative. The choices change regularly, varying
from your average pepperoni and cheese pizza
to the more bizarre vegetable and meat combos,
such as the corn and Bolognese sauce pizza,
as well as interesting dessert pizzas with toppings including marshmallows, white chocolate
or cinnamon to top off the delicious meal. As thebuffet works on a self-serve basis, the pizzas areserved sliced and the customers can help themselves to however many slices of their pizza ofchoice they desire.

Behind the festive – Getting to know
Kosuge village through the Genryu-matsuri

By Cameron Lam

The Girl Who Played with Fire: The finishing firework and performance at night.
All photos by Xuan Truong Trinh.

As an otaku in Komaba, I don’t usually go out ofthe vicinity of Shibuya-Komaba-Shimokitazawa.
Hence when I found a chance to go out of theconcrete jungle of Tokyo, the two-day trip to
Yamanashi-ken for the Genryu-matsuri ( 源 流 祭 ;lit. Festival of the Origin of the River) is an invitation I could not turn down.
The festival is held in Kosuge ( 小 菅 ) village, aparadise with only about seven-hundred inhabitants about three hours of public transport awayfrom the urbans of Tokyo. The festival was createdsome tens of years ago with the original intention of having people who left the village to returnonce every year. The festival, however, became abig success, attracting about ten-thousand participants including foreign tourists and Japanese
travellers. The festival of “water and fire and gourmet” is held on 4
May every year witha new theme every
y e a r. E a c h y e a r,
stalls and onstage
Hilly Kosuge: The river
where the name “genryu” “Festival of the Origin of theRiver” came from. The rivercontinues into the hilly terrain of Kosuge, mountains
filled with overpopulated
man-planted trees whichcause landslide.

30

performances offeredby local villagers are
run throughout the day.
At night, the festival
climaxes in a massive
bonfire and breathtaking fireworks. This
year’s theme being fire,
there is also a spectacular performance by
the fire dancers.

As a Japanese local matsuri, Genryu-matsuri will
give you an authentic taste of Japanese culture.
The beginning of the festival is marked by fireworks at 11am, while the food stalls begins selling
food as early as 10:30am. Local food with amazing aroma and exotic flavours are for sale at thefestival, which includes sansai, konyaku-sashimi(konjac sashimi), shikaniku (venison)… the onethat tops everything, however, is the huge barrel of Japanese sake made by the villagers. The
food and the sake for sale at the festival are all
local products which the villagers are proud to offer. While you are dazzled by the refreshing tasteof sansai decorated with the fragrance of local
wasabi, you will also witness the genuine smile on
the face of the villagers, feeling glad that tourists
are impressed by their effort. With traditional Japanese music performed by local primary school
students on the stage, at this point, all we see is a
joyful rural village holding a massive festival withstunning performances and delicious gourmet.
However, the festival is not only a mere event foreveryone to have a good time.
After visiting every food stall and having enjoyed
the performances, we are then introduced tothe social and environmental issues of village
Kosuge. In a presentation by a local villager, it issaid that the village is facing problems of aging

Handmade mochi: Villagers making red bean paste mochi
fresh from scratch.

population and low birth rate – 45% of the village
population being 65 year-old or above, while only
three babies were born last year. The festival isactually a method devised to battle such problems. The villagers also hold annual events thatwelcomes people from the city to interact withlocal villagers for hopes of marriage – a villagescale speed-dating event, so to say.
A tour by a volunteer worker, Truong, also exposed some environmental problems of Kosuge.
The biggest challenge faced by the village yet isthe lack of flat soil for farming. As a rural village far
from cities, a certain degree of self-sufficiency isimportant to keep the village functioning without
relying too much on supplies from the city. The
hilly terrain of Kosuge, however, makes elderlies
climb up and down the mountains every day tofarm, only to harvest enough just to sustain themselves. Coupled with environmental hazards likelandslides, much work has to be done to salvage
the village from its currently unsustainable state.
While the Genryu-matsuri is no doubt an exciting
event for tourists, it is also a call for attention by
the villagers. Through holding a festival, Kosuge
village attracts not only tourists’ attention to thebeauty of the village, but also attention to thechallenges faced by the village. The question ofwhether Kosuge can still sustain itself in the futureremained unanswered. However, for one I am impressed by the optimism of the villagers. Amidst
the crisis of the village, one can nonetheless feelthe virility of the villagers at the festival, their welcoming smiles and genuine kindness.

EXPLORING JAPANA slightly classier choice for a romantic dinner,or simply a relaxing meal away from the rushingcrowds of Tokyo, is La Soffitta. With its Mediterranean décor, complete with herbs hanging off
the ceiling, La Soffitta is a lovely Italian restaurant located a mere five minutes’ walk from the
Shibuya train station. The prices for rather large
pizzas, as well as various kinds of pasta, range
between ¥1000 and ¥2000. The meal may be
accompanied by a high-quality wine that tends
to be more expensive than the food itself, or a
non-alcoholic beverage of choice priced around¥500. The cheese pizza which I tried came witha cup of honey for flavor and was extremely delicious, although the very thin crust had trouble
balancing the strong taste of the toppings as wellas carrying their weight.
Pizzerias in Tokyo may be few and far between,

but they hold themselves to an extremely highstandard. Japanese pizza chefs usually study
their craft in Italy, working hard to replicate theoriginal tastes as precisely as possible1. In fact,
there have even been some to win international
pizza competitions held in Italy. Makoto Onishi,
who won the Pizzafest Competition in Naples
twice, says that the scarcity of “true” pizzeriasin Tokyo is the reason why Neapolitan pizza is
unknown to so many Japanese, and is motivatedby the idea of spreading the Neapolitan pizza
culture across Japan2.
No matter how long you stay here, there are always new and incredible things to be discoveredin Tokyo. Next time you get tired of the campus
cafeteria, grab a friend and let yourself be pleasantly surprised by the mysteries hidden in secretcorners of Shibuya.

A delicious pizza Margherita.
Photo by Yoshihide Nomura | Flickr.

1
Counihan, C. et al. 2013. Food and Culture: A
reader. London: Routledge. p. 445
2

Kondo, A. 2006. “Champion chef spreads Naples
pizza culture here.” The Japan Times. Available at:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2006/02/22/
national/champion-chef-spreads-naples-pizzaculture-here/#.WRfvgGiGPDd

Best Places to Live in Tokyo:
Find out this year’s top five chosen by Tokyo locals

By Ji Hee SongWhen it comes to deciding where to live, countless agonizing days await, weighing the pros andcons to make the best choice. It is even harder
to reach a conclusion if there is a wide rangeof choices particularly like in Tokyo. Tokyo, oneof the most populous metropolitan areas in theworld, is divided into 23 special wards and 26
cities, each with its own atmospheres.

an announcement on the construction of a newstation between Shinagawa and Tamachi station (expected to open in 2020) and many shops
have recently opened inside ‘Shinagawa Dining
Terrace’ and ‘Food&Time Isetan’ which makes
this neighbourhood convenient not only fortransportation but also for living.

Take a look at top 5 finalists from SUUMO’s 2017
research.

4. Meguro (SUUMO’s 2017 survey score 366)
This cozy, quiet and convenient district has
always been loved by Tokyo locals. A large
residential district in southwest Tokyo, Meguro
is favorably situated for transportation, locatedon the JR Yamanote line. However, the relaxing
atmosphere of Meguro makes it hard to believethat it is only two-stations away from incessantly
busy Shibuya. Famous cafes and shops alongwith an abundance of green spaces attract many
Tokyo locals to dream of living there.

5. Shinagawa (SUUMO’s 2017 survey score 346)

3. Yokohama (SUUMO’s 2017 survey score 460)

To rescue those wonderers, Japan’s real estateagent SUUMO conducts its annual report on thebest neighborhood in Tokyo that locals would
most want to live in. Started in 2010, this year’s
survey is based on a questionnaire of 3,996 people across Tokyo areas (including those living ina.k.a. “Greater Tokyo Area”) aging from 20 to 49.

Shinagawa, a central hub for transportation andbusinesses is making its first appearance in the
top 5. It ranks second for the station with themost number of train lines in Tokyo and also a
center of western style businesses, especiallyknown as the birthplace of SONY.
The construction of a new station, “Shinagawa
New Station” and shops attracted the Tokyo
locals to choose it. Last September, there was

1.Relaxing Atmosphere of Kichijoji is always beloved. Photo byauthor.

Although it is not actually part of Tokyo prefecture, its appealing flavor and history is charming
enough to make Yokohama ranked third for three
years in a row. Yokohama is Japan’s second
largest city with a population of over three million and was one of the first ports opened up toforeign trade which is still retained today in its
international architecture. Minato Mirai, the central business district of Yokohama, is the mostmodernized area in Kanagawa prefecture with

2.Shining Christmas in Ebisu.
Photo by Kakidai | Wikimedia
Commons.

3.In the Darkness, Yokohama
shines the brightest. Photo byinoc | Wikimedia Commons.

only office buildings and apartments that havebeen built in the last 30 years. From large shopping malls to beautiful oceanic scenery, it is nowonder that Yokohama is favored by locals.

2. Ebisu (SUUMO’s 2017 survey score 511)
Last year’s winner had to step down this time. Ebisu where many headquarters of many international
companies and embassies are located nearby,
was ranked second on the 2017 survey. Locatedon the JR Yamanote line and Hibiya Line, only astation away from Shibuya and Roppongi, Ebisu
is also an accessible place inside Tokyo. Furthermore, a high-end but relaxing atmosphere with favorable amenities including Yebisu Garden Place,a major entertainment, retail and office complex,
explains why Ebisu is favored by Tokyo residents.
1. Kichijoji (SUUMO’s 2017 survey score 586)

Kichijoji reclaims its throne in this year’s rankings,
which is no surprise considering it was No.1 from2013 to 2015. Situated in the western suburbs ofTokyo, Kichijoji is an ideal choice for residence
as it is close enough to the central wards, yet
far enough to stay calm and peaceful. JR Chuoline and Keio Inokashira line link Kichijoji directlywith central parts inside Tokyo making it convenient to live. At the same time, it is a fashionableneighborhood with many unique restaurants andshops and is also home to the famous Ghibli
Museum and harmonious Inokashira Park.

4.A beautiful Cherry Blossom
by Meguro River. Photo by K H |Wikimedia Commons.

5.Shinagawa is wide awake atnight. Photo by Toshihiro Oimatsu| Wikimedia Commons.

31

Living History of Inokashira Park

By Ji Hee Song

What comes to mind when you think of Tokyo?
Renowned as a metropolis filled with skyscrapers and contemporary architecture, abundanceof ‘green areas’ may not be your first thought.
Contrary to the expectations of many visitors, thecity does have plenty of green areas which offer
its locals an opportunity to escape from busy city
life and Inokashira Park is one of them.
Take a short walk from Kichijoji, the most beloved
town in Tokyo among Tokyo residents, and you
will easily find this cozy park which is not only richin nature but also in history. Its name ‘Inokashira’
was given by Iemitsu, the third Tokugawa shogun
in the 17th century. The name ‘Inokashira’ means
either “source of the water supply” or “well that
supplies the most delicious water” since the Inokashira Pond was the source of the first water
service for Tokyo (then called Edo) until the Kanda
water supply was built in 1898. In 1917, it was established as Japan’s first suburban park and justhas celebrated its 100th anniversary this May.

Although it does notoffer drinking water
anymore, it perfectly
fulfill the role as a relaxing getaway. The
The famous ‘Ghibri (animaThe beauty of Inokashira Park
Cherry Blossoms in Inotion) Museum’ is in the southshines not only in spring but
kashira Park is renowned inpark consists of fourwest of the Inokashira Park.
also in the other times of theJapan.
sections and few
All images are by author.
year.
attractions. There is
no doubt that Ghibli Museum is the most popularspring. Chosen in the Top 100 Best Spots for
attraction of this park. Ghibli Museum is a muHanami (cherry blossom viewing), every springseum dedicated to the famous animation studio,
it is crowded with people all over Tokyo to enjoy
Studio Ghibli, which is located in the southwest
peak bloom. Moreover, it hosts two annual events:
end of Inokashira Park. The park also contains a
Kichijoji Music Festival, a park concert in the besmall zoo where you can enjoy watching a number
ginning of April by brass bands and choirs andof Japanese species and tropical birds for a reaKichijoji Anime Wonderland which is held every
sonable price (400 yen for adults, 150 yen for stuOctober. Furthermore, every weekend many artdents). Lastly, never forget to ride the swan boat
ists sell their own craftworks at the ‘Art Market’.
which is loved by friends, couples and families.
Even though its looks have changed over 100
Inokashira Park has a face for every season andyears, the love from locals remains still. How she
is beautiful in its own way. However, the mostcontinues to be loved and what kinds of story
beloved season for visitors to come around is
she will tell remains to be seen.

Glittering Ginza: A fantabulous girl’s day out

By Anna Matsuo

Fendi, Dior, Chanel. Name it, and Ginza’s got it.
Ginza’s Chuo-Doori, which prides itself with store
after store of European brands, is comparable to
the Champs-Elysées and Fifth Avenue.
My two girlfriends and I spent an afternoon
living the “high life” of Ginza, and here’s how it
went.

1 p.m.

After taking the Inokashira line from Komaba
Todaimae to Shibuya, Ginza is just 25 minutes
away on the Ginza line. From the subway, wecome right out onto Chuo-Doori.
One of the first stores we went into was
Prada. Although I hesitated going into such ahigh-end store at first, I quickly came to the realization that there was no pressure to buy anything. Because Ginza is a tourist hotspot, where
many tourists come every day, the stores areaccustomed to people coming into their storesfor tourism purposes. Thus, in Ginza, you can go
into stores you probably wouldn’t elsewhere.

2 p.m.

After trying on somemakeup and buying an eyeliner at
Shiseido, we walked
into Ginza Six, which
opened its doors
just a few weeks ago
on April 20. Large,
inflatable pumpkins
designed by Kusama
Yayoi decorated thehigh ceiling. I was first
impressed by how thestore attendants guided crowds onto theescalator so that the32

flow of customers would be smooth. “Please go
up on the escalator in two rows,” they called out.
Swayed by the crowd, we somehow made ourway up the escalators, intrigued by the amountof customers.
There were a nice selection of brands at
Ginza Six— Van Cleef and Arpels, Tabio, Adidas,
Yves Saint Laurent, Jimmy Choo, Barbour… thelist goes on for five floors. All that glitters IS gold
at Ginza Six. Restaurants and cafés are locatedon the sixth floor, and there are a few more highend restaurants and a lounge on the thirteenth.
You can also access the Ginza Six Garden, open
to the public, from the thirteenth floor. Concreteand greenery come together to create an urban
garden-- Enjoy the smell of jasmine while you
overlook Ginza.

3 p.m.

Tea time! We walked into Mitsukoshi, one of themost famous department stores in Japan, rightacross from the iconic Wako building. On thesecond floor of Mitsukoshi is Ladurée— the famous French macaron shop. On busy days, thewait can be two hours, but we were lucky andwere led into the Rococo style tea room after ashort twenty-minute wait.
We ordered the “Afternoon Tea” set (3564 perperson) after much contemplation at the menu.
It included one hot beverage (hot chocolate or
tea of your choice), one cold beverage (orange
or grapefruit juice), two macarons of your choice,
two finger sandwiches, two financiers, little meringues, and a pastry of your choice per person.
The macarons (I selected the Earl Grey
macaron and the pistachio macaron) were a little
sweeter than I prefer them to be, but the savory
financier was a great palate refresher. The two finger sandwiches were ham and cheese-- but if you
are a pescatarian, you can ask them to change theham to salmon, and if you are a vegetarian, they
can change it to two cheese sandwiches. Unfortunately, the iconic Ispahan (rose and lychee macaron) and Saint Honore Rose Framboise (rose andraspberry puff pastry) were already sold out, so we
didn’t get our first-choice pastries. But our second choices of Fraise
Laduree (a strawberryshaped shortcake),
Tarte Fraise Rhubarbe,
and Plaisir Sucre (hazelnut and chocolate
ganache cake) weredelicious nonetheless.
I definitely recommend
this fancy three-tiered
plate on a day you want
to indulge and “treatyourself”.
Both photos by author.

6 p.m.

Time to leave Ladurée — our magical time isover. After spending almost three hours chatting, we decided to call it a day. Our Gossip Girlesque day in Ginza is one for the books— andInstagram, of course.
Ginza is a must-go if you’re into fashion-and even though it’s not discussed here, there
is a lot more to explore in Ginza. Not into thathigh-end stuff? You can see Kabuki plays in east
Ginza at the Kabuki-za, and Ginza is only a few
minutes walk from Tsukiji fish market.
And although Ginza is a great place to explore with your friends during the day, it’s quite aromantic city at night. I went to Ginza Six anothertime at night, and from a quiet corner of therooftop garden, I got a spectacular view of Tokyo
Tower. There’s even some sitting space, so it’s agreat spot if you want to spend a few quiet moments with your significant other.

EXPLORING JAPANThe History and the Present of Okutama

By Shin Tokura

In 1957, the construction of the Ogochi Dam was
set up against the local people’s will. The construction did not go smoothly because the local people
refused to sell their land. Eighty-seven people diedduring the construction, which possibly createdthe rumor of ghost sites, and the work was finallyfinished after the argument against Kanagawa prefecture about water rights. Existing abolished railroads and tunnels were used at that time to carry
construction material. Okutama Lake was formedat the same time as the Ogochi Dam was built.
Okutama hike.
Photo by author.

Great nature in Okutama.
Photo by author.

Okutama is located in the far west in Tokyo and it
has great nature as opposed to the urbanized eastof Tokyo. Many people go there to fish, barbecue
and hike. As one of the big fans of Okutama, I go
there to walk along a river every summer. I went
there recently on a welcome trip for freshmen andfound it even more interesting than I originally
thought. I saw a lot of building ruins and unused
infrastructures, such as railroads and tunnels,
surrounded by the great nature. It was shocking
that Okutama, which I had thought was a place ofpure, untouched nature, has in fact been touchedquite heavily by humans. What is more, some ofthose infrastructures are said to be ghost spots.

Surprisingly, a major railroad company called Seibu Railways bought those railroads for 130 million
yen after the construction was finished. A document called “The Postulation about the Development around Okutama Lake” mentions that Seibu
tried to change the Okutama area into “the second
Hakone” (Hakone is one of the most popular sightseeing spots,) connected by railway to anothersightseeing spot to the north, Chichibu. Their plan
seemed so clear and realistic as various kinds offacilities such as a high station building, a heliport,
a hotel, amusement park and a camping site were
included in the planning. However, the company
cancelled the project as quickly as 6 years after
the “the second Hakone” plan was publishedbecause they decided Okutama Lake was a poorsightseeing spot,
after it dried up often. This is why wecan still find someof the unfinishedinfrastructure there
today.

Unused Tunnel.
Photo from Wikipedia.

Another famous unused facility is Okutama Ropeway. It started its service in 1962, a year before
Seibu canceled the plan. However, it stopped
operating after 4 years because they built a bridgecrossing the lake. It still exists as it used to be, but
the municipality is concerned that its wire mighttear or its steel tower might collapse. The problem
is that nobody knows which company possesses
the ropeway and thus it can not be demolishedlegally. Interestingly, the gondola attached to theropeway is a famous ghost site. Apparently several people have seen a woman standing in it.
As mentioned above, Okutama is popular for
its great nature, but it is not only nature thatinterests people. Once you know more about
the mysterious Okutama, your visit will be more
exciting and thrilling. Although it takes about 2hours by train from the center of Tokyo to getthere, it is definitely worth the visit.

Paper Book Culture in JapanBy Yulee Kim

When I ride the train on the Keio-Inokashira Line,I see people physically holding hand-sized books
to read. While studying in Japan, those scenes
are quite ordinary here. As a Korean, who is moreused to reading e-books than physical books forliterature, it is very challenging for me to search
the reason why such culture is so popular here
and an attracting issue at the same time.

scale. Almost every secondhand
bookstore does not go over 10
square meters and these shops
are sustained in a collective
manners. This also shows Japan’s groupism in entrepreneurmanner: It may not be huge, but
compact, deep, and long-lasting.

Historical background of paper book
culture - Jimbocho

Customers in Jimbocho vary from young generations to elders; they may stop-by to have a lookaround after they finish working at a firm, or comepurposely to find the out-of-print comic book.

Customers in Japan can easily visit offline
bookstores such as Book-off!, Kinokuniya, andTsutaya in every region: Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka,and Kobe. How has it been commercialized so
widely? According to historical materials, thehistory of Japan’s book culture starts from Jimbocho, the most famous secondhand bookstore
street in Tokyo. It is located between Yasukuni
Shrine and Meiji University. There are over two
hundred bookstores on that stretch of road, including a large number of second hand stores.
Jimbocho was originally famous as the samurai
residential area during the Edo period. However,when imperial rule was restore in the late 19th
century, samurai lost their jobs and Jimbocho’s
ownership got transferred to the nation for the
purpose of national education project in Meiji
era. Schools were established in Jimbocho andpublishing companies came next. As educatedpeople needed more books, the appearance ofbookstores was naturally expected. This was thestart of the bookstores in Jimbocho.
Most secondhand bookstores run on a small

Secondhand bookstore in Jimbocho.
Photo by author.

Japan Book culture in 2017

However, the scale of sales in paper books is estimated to decline in Japan. Although Jimbocho
Secondhand bookstore’s existence is importantin itself, the book market is changing its consumer behavior.
Table: Comparison Paper book through online
order with e-book
Amazon Japan Book Off Online
Various:From 1Yen
Price(for secondhand
book)
Yen
Delivery 250
for each book
Fee
(Domestic)
Review Available
Page
preview Available

Following theBook-price-fix
law in Japan.
But has sales corner
350 Yen for each time
(Free for over1500 Yen)
Not available
Not available

Electronicalbook
Generallyhalf of thePaper book
None
Available
Available

Paper book culture in Japan is experiencing thechallenge by the appearance of E-book (electronic
version of printed book) along with its active
marketing strategies. Even if customers want toJimbocho secondhand books
area map. Photo by author.

order physical books online, they easily find outthat e-books are more portable and has competitive prices compared to the same physical book.
According to Nikkei Shinbun, e-book markets
accounted for its sale of 1.4 billion Yen, which
increased approximately by 39.3% compared tothat of last year. “E-book formed a watershed in
the history of paper book culture in Japan.” Amanager in a Shibuya bookstore said. “Although
paper books keep their power in the book market,
it is true that we will not be able to help admitting
to the changes in the book market someday.”
We have no choice but to accept our changes in
consumer behavior, but still, I see the importanceof paper book. How they keep their values in
its physical form gives writers ideas. Existenceof the offline bookstore is not just for selling thebooks, but for reaching the summit of culturalrichness. In the summit of culture and civilization,
I think bookstores have more substantial value
in the sense that it keeps records written both in
the past and present: generating the sustainability of the book culture. Sato, the manager who
works at a secondhand bookstore in Jimbocho,says that “Although we cannot compare the exact value between e-books and physical books,
we still have our value in our physical existence.”

33

Penis Festival

By Miya Huang

You read it right. It is a festival about “penis.”
There are penis sculptures, penis masks, penisthemed T-shirts, penis-shaped candies, rice sticks,
chocolate bananas, et cetera. You might find it
disgusting at first and think it is just another bizarre Japanese thing. Actually, this festival is much
more meaningful and complicated than it seems.
The official name for the Penis Festival is Kanamara Matsuri. It is held annually on the first Sunday of April in Kawasaki, Kanagawa prefecture.
The first time I saw videos about the Matsuri, I
thought I was watching a X-rated film. Nevertheless, after going to the festival on April 2, 2017,

I realized it is just like any other Japanese festivals. My friends and I enjoyed the nice musicwith our drinks and food. We watched the penis
parade (Mikoshi parade), in which men andwomen carried penis sculptures to Kanayama
Shrine, while eating our candies in the shapeof a penis. There were not only adults but also
kids and elderlies. The only difference was thateverything was in the shape of a phallus or somemodification of it. It was fun.
Where did this weird festival come from? Oneof the legends says the ancient Japanese goddess Izanami’s lower body got seriously injured

after giving birth to a fire god. Kanayamahikoand Kanayamahime, the gods of mining andblacksmith who are now enshrined in Kanayama
shrine, healed Izanami. Since then, the two gods
became known as the gods of childbirth andhealing of lower body. Gradually, people start toworship them as fertility gods.
Another legend tells that a devil fell in love witha lady and hid inside her vagina. Using his sharp
teeth, the devil twice bit off her newlywed husband’s penis. Out of desperation, the lady asked
a blacksmith to make a steel penis. The devil
broke its teeth after attempting to bite the metal

The Yukata How-To: 10 Easy Steps

By Lexa Brieck

As the summer approaches, Japan becomeshome to numerous festivals, or omatsuri ( お祭り ).
An abundance of stalls glowing in the warmth
spilling from lanterns line the paths, and vendors call out to festival-goers in hopes of selling
plates of steaming yakisoba noodles, takoyaki(octopus balls), and kushiyaki (meat skewers).
The streets are bright and lively, and many wear
the Japanese cotton kimonos called yukata. The
literal meaning of yukata is bathing clothes, but itis worn at various events and occasions throughout the year: one of the most popular being summer festivals. Everyone should have a chance toexperience wearing yukata at a Japanese festivalat least once in their lifetime. For those of you
who would like to wear a yukata but have no idea
how to even get started, here are a few steps toput on a yukata easily and quickly for women.

What you will need:●Yukata●Koshi-himo (2)(either long pieces of cloth or one beltwith clips on the end and one belt with abuckle; they are wrapped around the waist
and initially support the yukata’s shape)●Obi●Sports bra

Optional:

3. Bring the two sides of the yukata together infront of you. There should be horizontal seams
on both sides (right around the height of yourwaist). After checking that the horizontal seams
are aligned, hold both front flaps of the yukata
a few centimeters below these seam with one
hand as well as the vertical seam at the backof the yukata near your hip with the other hand.
Pull forwards and backwards at the same time
to pull the yukata up and a few centimeters
above the ankle. This step is important to ensurethat the yukata will not be off-center and that thelength is just right for your height.

Checking the Horizontal Seams.

●Yukata underclothes

Components
of a Yukata.
All photos byauthor.

1. Find a yukata. This step is all up to you! Yukatas are sold at various clothing stores and are
more frequently seen as the summer months
approach. From large shopping malls to kimono
retailers and even second-hand stores, yukatas
are easy to find. There are a wide variety ofdesigns and colors to choose from. Even if you
cannot find one at a store, online shopping is another popular option.

34

2. Wear the correct underclothes and put on
the yukata. The ideal shape to have is flat whenlooking from the side, so wear a sports bra orunderclothes that give you this shape. Whenputting on the yukata, pull your arms through thelongest pieces of cloth (there should be large slitsthat run from your waist to below your shoulder).

Adjusting Yukata Length.

4. Keeping the same height, let go of the backseam, grab the both front panels of the yukata
with either hand, and open up the yukata withboth hands to adjust the length. This step
reinforces the previous one in ensuring that thelength is the same on both sides.
5. While still holding theboth sides of the yukata,bring the left side to yourright hip. When doing thisstep, make sure that the bottom seam of the yukata is ata slight upward angle.

Adjusting Length of
Right Side.

6. Pull the left side away from your body andpull the right side to the left. The right side will
be on bottom, so it will be the final deciding fac-

tor in the length and width of
the garment. The bottom of
the yukata should be about
2 inches (about 5 centimeters) from the ground andhorizontal.

Adjusting Length of
Left Side.

7. Use the koshi-himo and wrap it tightly aroundyour waist. Make sure that it is beneath the extra fabric that was pulled upwards. This should
be as tight as possible to keep the yukata inplace. When tying it,tuck the ends into theband. If using a koshihimo belt, use the one
with the buckle and clip
it as tightly as possiblearound the waist.
Koshi-himo.
8. Put your hands in the side slits of the yukata and pull the extra fabric over the koshihimo. This extra fabric is called ohashori. It will
be shown underneaththe obi. The extra fabric should be in a line
neatly pressed along
the bottom. Make sure
to straighten the extra
fabric at the back of the
Ohashori Adjustment.
yukata as well.
9. Use the second koshi-himo and wrap it under
your bust. This should be tight as well; keep theends wrapped around the fabric to hide the ends
for when the obi is added. If using a koshi-himo
belt, clip the first end onto the right side (slightly
below the horizontal seam at the front of the yukata), pull it below the left side fabric and out of the
opening in the kimono
under the left shoulder.
Then, pull it behind andaround and clip it to thethe left side of the yukata
around the same position
Second Koshi-himo Placeas the other clip.
ment.
10. Wrap the obi. Either use an already madeobi with velcro attachments or use the obi wrapping instructions after this to try it yourself.

EXPLORING JAPAN
penis and left the lady’s body. The great steel penis was then enshrined in the Kanayama shrine.
There are also historical reasons behind this festival. In the 17th century, Kawasaki was a stop
for people who traveled from Kyoto to Tokyo.
There were teahouses which not only sold foodand drinks, but also the service of prostitutes.
Kanayama shrine was a popular place among
the prostitutes to pray for good business andprotection from sexually-transmitted diseases.
Today the purpose of the festival has evolved
to praying for fertility, safe childbirth, long-

lasting marriage and even to raise funds for HIV
research. Moreover, it brings people from allaround the world to relax and have fun under thecherry blossom trees on this day.
Japanese often give people an impression of
being conservative and introverted. However,the penis festival reveals the lively and openside of Japan. As long as you do not judge theseemingly-disgusting image of the festival, youwill definitely enjoy the festival.
Kanamara matsuri is not the only festival related
to the penis. There is an annual phallus festival

in Greek city Tyrnavos on the first dayof Lent, and a penisshaped bread isserved. In the northern part of Nagoya,there is an annual Honen Matsuri (Harvest
Festival) in March, inwhich a huge wooden
penis is carried fromone shrine to anotherwith women in kimono sitting on it.

The pink penis sculpture (mikoshi)
named “Elizabeth”. Photo by
Stealth3327 (Wikimedia Commons)

The Yukata How-To: The Obi

By Lexa Brieck

Imagine walking through a lively festival andhearing the sound of fireworks right above yourhead. The smell of matsuri food wafting throughthe air and the slight breeze bringing a crispness
to a warm summer night. After having completed putting on the yukata, the next step is to
wrap the obi belt. Many shops sell velcro obis,
obis that are easy to put on (simply tying it into abutterfly bow), and even pre-tied obis. Learning
how to tie your own obi, though, is a skill thatwill be sure to impress your friends and give youa sense of accomplishment when wearing youryukata around town.

What You Will Need:●Hanhaba Obi(obi that is half the size of the ones used
for kimonos)●Datejime(thick piece of cloth to keep yukata inplace; the one secured with velcro is theeasiest with which to work)

Optional:●Datejime(thick piece of clothwith velcro to keep
yukata in place)●Obi-ita(piece of cardboard
or hard material tokeep the obi fromcreasing)●Obijime(cord wrappedaround the obi atthe end)●Obidome(decorative item
clipped onto the
Obijime)●Obi-age(scarf-like material
tied around the topof the obi)

1. Secure the yukata.
Using the datejime,
w r a p i t a ro u n d y o u r
waist and secure it.

Datejime.
All photos by author.

2. Fold about an arm’s length of the obi inhalf and put the ends over your right shoul-der. When folding, thewidth of the obi, not theheight, should be folded
in half. This is helpful
later on when tying theobi bow.

Folding the Obi in Half.

3. If using a obi-ita, put it against your waist
and then wrap the obi twice around your waist
and obi-ita going to the left. By putting the obiita in first, it helps to secure the obi shape. If you
do not own an obi-ita, you can skip this step andwrap the obi around your waist twice.
4. With the remaining obi fabric, fold it in atriangular shape going from the bottom-rightside of the obi to the top-left side. To make thistriangle, the end of the obi should be on the left
side of the body and be brought upwards toward
the left shoulder. This creates a seam from thebottom-right side of thewrapped obi to the topleft side. The remaining
obi fabric, thus, will bemostly folded in half.
This is preparation for
Tying Obi.
making the obi bow.
5. Keeping the initial
half-folded obi clothat the top, tie it withthe remaining lengthof fabric. This shouldbe centered towards
the top of the wrapped
obi so that the bow tiedlater is higher up.

Folding the Obi.

6. Keep the half-folded end over the left shoulder and open up the other end of the obi fabric.
Then, bring it toward the right side of the body,make a seam, and fold it over to the left, makea seam, and repeat theprocess. This should
create a stack of fabricthat is about waistwidth. Make it as large
as you want the obi bow
Creating Bow Shape.
to be.

7. Put your right hand at the knot created earlier
that should be located underneath the folded
stack of obi fabric, and, with your left hand,create a bow-like shape. The left hand should
grab hold of where the right hand is holding theknot under the fabric. The point here is to makesure that you are not bunching all of the fabricin the middle. Instead,the middle of the fabricshould be pulled outward, creating two inward dents on either sideof the middle and withthe lower and bottom
ends facing outward.
Tying the Bow.
8. With the half-folded end of the fabric, bring itover the middle of the bow created previously.
Wrap this fabric completely under the tied knot
and repeat until no extra fabric is left. Make
sure that the fabric isfolded completely in half
without the ends showing. This should keep
Bow at the Back.
the obi bow in place.
9. Carefully slide thecompleted bow aroundthe body until it is centered at your back. At
this point, make surethat the shape of the yukata underneath is not
disturbed.

Finished Yukata (back).

10. Finally, use decorations such as the
obiage, obijime, or
obidome to bring more
attention to your obi.
Finished Yukata(front).

Wear the completed yukata to summer festivals
and take it as a chance to learn more about
Japanese culture and what Japan has to offer.

35

List of contributors ( As of March 2018 )Yu Nakatsuka

Jessica Ge

Taiga Tase

NSII, 2nd year student

HSIII (PEAK), 2nd year student

Cameron Lam

Sachiko Kawano

Ela Bogtaj Stopar

Yulee Kim

HSIII (PEAK), 2nd year student

USTEP, exchange student

Shin Tokura

Sarah Goh

Dhriti Mehta

Ji Hee Song

Shoko Sano

HSIII (PEAK), 2nd year student

NSII, 2nd year student

HSIII (PEAK), 2nd year student
NSI, 2nd year student

NSI, 2nd year student

HSIII, 2nd year student

NSI, 2nd year student

HSIII (PEAK), 2nd year student

Takuma Furukawa

NSI, 2nd year student

Bobby Wen

HSIII (PEAK), 2nd year student

Hanna Hirakawa

HSIII, 1st year student

Anna Matsuo

HSIII (PEAK), 2nd year student

Eugene SongHSIII (PEAK), 2nd year student

Miya Huang

NSII (PEAK), 2nd year student

Lexa Brieck

HSIII (PEAK), 2nd year student*HS: Humanities and Social Sciences,
NS: Natural Sciences

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 the wider world.
This latest issue is the largest volume yet with 55 stories by 19 writers. Over this past year, journalistic integrity has been increasingly scrutinized in many countries. The writers spent quite some time discussing journalistic ethics and reflecting what
they can and should achieve in their reporting.
We look forward to hear from readers and students who’d like to join our endeavor.

Issue 7 Publication date : April 2018

Editor/Supervisor Yuko Itatsu

Assistant Editors Flavia Feijo and Sherry Zheng

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
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