As we transition into a new academic year this April, we reflect on an eventful 2023 and anticipate the opportunities that 2024 holds for our students, especially those who have navigated their academic journey from the onset of their education in 2020 through the challenges of COVID-19, to studying abroad in 2022. As we continued throughout the year, it was a pivotal moment for many, marking the final year for some students. It’s with great honor to guide both returning and new students through an enriching learning experience centered on communication, connections, and the vibrant creativity and dynamism of the city.
In 2023, students embarked on significant academic endeavors, delving into new research projects aimed at addressing pressing contemporary issues such as the challenges facing post-pandemic public spaces, the quest for urban sustainability and diversity, and enhancing urban-rural linkages. These projects are crucial for understanding the common and distinct problems of urban and rural Japan. Our academic year was enriched with a variety of initiatives, including:
Seminar Cities, Culture, and Everyday Life
Research Project Tokyo Diversity
Investigations into “Subculture Spaces”,
Studies on “Urban-Rural Linkages (Rethinking Rural Japan)”,
And fostering “Critical Thinking towards Sustainability”.
As 2023 unfolded, students reached significant milestones in their research endeavors. They completed their initial findings by the first semester, refining their research questions in the following term. This process involved extensive data collection and analysis, culminating in the summarization of their insights in their final graduation thesis. The year was also marked by increased engagement with the outside world, including professional meetings, guest lectures, exploratory walks around Tokyo, and a seminar trip, enriching their academic and practical understanding of the subjects at hand.
Looking ahead to 2024, we aim to build on this foundation with plans to deepen our exploration of the critical themes introduced. The focus will be on advancing our understanding of how urban and rural dynamics interplay with cultural and sustainability issues in Japan. We will continue to support our students in their academic and research pursuits, ensuring they have the resources and opportunities to achieve their full potential. This year promises to be another step forward in our continuous effort to contribute to the broader discourse on urbanism, sustainability, and societal well-being.
The Kobe Fieldwork, conducted at the beginning of November 2023, aimed to examine the town planning mechanisms implemented by the city government to protect diverse communities and strengthen their resilience. Upon arrival, we commenced our visit to Mount Rokko, observing the city’s development since the 1995 Earthquake. Our exploration included the recovery process and a visit to the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake Memorial Museum, which featured a guided tour and a movie screening.
The following day, we delved into the history of the foreign settlement quarter and explored the local farmers market, renowned for its innovative approach to connect producers, consumers, and people from various backgrounds. The market, held every Saturday in a picturesque park, provided us with the opportunity to conduct interviews with over ten food stand operators, discussing their contributions to local farming, food security, and different recovery initiatives, as well as the establishment of local farm networks and distribution channels for wine, cheese, beer, and of course, vegetables. Additionally, we learned about collaborative workspaces, the utilization of akiya (vacant homes) for various purposes, startup promotions, and local tourism initiatives.
The field trip concluded with a comprehensive tour of the Kobe harbor development, which included visits to the Tadao Ando Children’s Library, the Kiito Design Centre, and the Atoa Complex, along with the newly developed Tooth Tooth Food Market and the iconic Kobe Sign. The Kobe Fieldwork provided the participants with a broad spectrum of experiences, from historical sites and cultural landmarks to insights into disaster management and recovery strategies. More fieldtrips will follow in 2024.
Looking Back and Looking Forward: Community and Justice in Crisis
The Pacific Rim Community Design 2023 Sendai took place from 16-18 September 2023. At Day 1 all participants visited Futaba, a town erased by 3.11, the Futaba Disaster Museum and listed to the major and how the town tries to recover. He showed us around the derelict city hall where the time stood still and displayed the time of the event: 14.46pm at 3.11. Afterwards we had the opportunity to see one of the local elementary schools and how also here time stop suddenly when the triple disaster hit. Parents were able to pick up belongings some 7 years later, but some never did as the memory must have been too sad.
From former 6500 residents just 100 returned (09.2023) or moved here (e.g. newcomer) since the lifting of the evacuation order on 30 August 2022. Many areas near the destroyed coastal areas are mainly planned for work/shopping but not living or residential purposes (even though around the new JR Futaba station (which is located along the Joban line) new low rise housing is constructed at the moment, offering affordable and subsidied houses and apartments for rent).
Also many (new) companies settle in the area, some are still under construction, attracting even more companies as 70 percent of the construction cost can be covered by public funds. Newcomer who plan to settle in the town can receive 200man/ 16.000 Euro, returnees cannot receive this, which leads to more inner conflicts and shows how complex the situation is. Thanks to all who organized this tour, it was a very inspiring to see the development, even though the town might never recover fully.
On day 2 we visited the Tomioka Archive museum, its impressive installations which featured items which were collected from private homes (70 percents of the items on display) including clocks, calendars but also a wrecked police car which reminds the visitor of the tragedy of the triple disaster which caused so many death, not just immediately but also many years later (the Futaba museum mentioend a number of a total of 2337 disaster related death in Fukushima by 31 March 2023). Minachan who is working as story teller for a local NGO eventually joined us on a bus tour around Tomioka showing us the former shotengai (central shopping street), schools, station buildings and even the fundament of her own house which is she now rebuilding in Tomioka.
After lunch we visited the Tomioka winery which started 2014/2015 to plant vines to better use the area and create something for future generations. Three school friends (who are now in their 50s) came together, used their own land and funds to start the procedure and continue to realize the project with the help of crowdfunding and many volunteers to finally to suceed to produce 500 bottles per year (as of 2022). Most of the bottles go to the crowdfunders, volunteers and all people involved but they have high hopes to be able to sell wine very soon to the general public. More about their initiave can be found here: https://tomioka-wine.com/
Our final stop brought us to Namie Cafe and the Ocafe, which is the initiave of a former residents and other women to tell the stories of 3.11 and their survivor.s Oka-san rebuilt and opens her house as cafe to all who want to know more about the disaster which especially hit Namie town but also many other local communities so hard. We listed to three kamishibai stories, narrated by three amazing women who work effortless to create a local network to which we should listen to and learn from so that such disaster will not happen again. If you are in the area, give them a call, surely they are welcoming you: https://ocafe-utuwa.mystrikingly.com/
On monday all participants came together at the Tohoku Universitie’s International Research Institute of Disaster Science – IRIDeS together to discuss their impressions, listen to different researchers and finally to poster presentations who featured many new ideas. Many thanks to all the organizers for all the efforts, energy and time as they took months to prepare this event, lets not just talk but realize how to create livable communities.
Ocafe is growing 1000 Sakuratrees to give to schools and other groups
In May students started to prepare a new series of interviews for the upcoming screening of a documentary about everyday life and challenges in Tokyo’s neighbourhoods, this time focussing on Jinbocho, Kanda. The aim it is to highlight the challenges the residents and visitors face everyday to live and access this neighbourhood. This forms a unique chance for the students to conduct town walks and interviews at the same time, documenting their work and research not just in form of fieldnotes, visual sketches but also videomaterial which they can utilize to recall the fieldwork and support their findings.
As the work just started, the time of the screening and exhibition will be announced at a later date. More can be found here: https://heideimai.com/seminar-cities-culture-and-everyday-life-2022%e5%b9%b4%e5%be%8c%e6%9c%9f/
After some eventful weeks, a new semester and academic year has started in April. We will enter the second year back F2F and final year for some of the students who started at this faculty in 2020, survived covid-19 and went abroad in 2022. It will be my honor to guide these and all new students to learn more about communication, connections and the city which has so much creativity and dynamics to offer. In some new research project we will also address more current problems as post-pandemic public spaces under pressure, how to achieve urban sustainability/ diversity and support urban-rural linkages to learn more about urban and rural Japan common and different problems. A not complete list:
Recently our seminar was interviewed by Nikkei Shinbun. We talked about the fieldwork we currently conduct in Kanda Jinbocho and we were more than delighted to introduce the journalists to the connections we made overthe last months in the local community and how this will help to improve the character of this neighbourhood.
Senshu University, School of International Communication, Learning Culture through Experiences in Exchange 2022/12/07 Nihon Keizai Shimbun Morning Edition Page 31
Senshu University’s School of International Communication is a new faculty created in the 2020 academic year. It provides opportunities for fieldwork, study abroad, and practical educational experiences. It aims to develop human resources who are well versed in Japanese culture and cross-cultural understanding and who can respond to globalization. In late November, five students from the Faculty of Intercultural Communication visited Yamatoya Shokumoten, a long-established geta store in Kanda Jimbocho, Tokyo. The purpose of their visit was to report their findings through SNS (social networking site). The store rents a part of the store to other kimono businesses. On the day of the visit, haori (Japanese traditional haori coat) and hand towels using a technique called chusen (tie-dyeing) were on display. Ryuhei Funabiki, the fifth-generation owner of the store, explained that he wanted to convey the charm of kimono, and the students exchanged opinions, saying, “It looks good even when worn over Western clothes. Associate Professor Imai Heide, who is teaching the seminar students, is from Germany and has practical experience in architecture and urban design. “Without the backing of a culture that is easy to empathize with, a community cannot be created. I hope to make students aware of this through a familiar city,” she says about the aim of this fieldwork.
The Faculty of International Communication has approximately 700 students in the Department of Intercultural Communication and the Department of Japanese Language. In the first year, all students learn the basics of Japanese culture and cross-cultural understanding. After that, each department cultivates expertise through study abroad, seminars, and practical experience. Communication across borders requires not only the ability to understand and use language, but also an understanding of cultural diversity and universality. In order to enable students to study a wide variety of topics, the department has assembled a faculty specializing in languages and interdisciplinary themes. Dean Tetsuro Negishi explains the department’s aim: “We provide students with a three-dimensional approach to the world and society. The Department of Intercultural Communication places emphasis on fieldwork and other practical activities. For the first time at Senshu University, students are required to study abroad. Department Chair Kenro Suzuki says, “We hope that students will gain a broad understanding of communication through local experiences. The Japanese Language Department, on the other hand, teaches Japanese as a global lingua franca. The students will deepen their knowledge in a practical manner by utilizing literature and materials. The leftward-facing face on the wall visually indicates the rule of reading characters from the left,” he said. Tomoe Konno, a second-year student in Professor Tatsuya Saito’s seminar on Japanese phonology and notation, shows and explains a manuscript of the “Shinkokin Wakashu. In Professor Saito’s seminar, students choose a subject of their choice, compile their findings into panels, and display them in the university library. Professor Saito says, “We devise ways for students to learn practical skills such as presentation, planning, and negotiation through the transmission of Japanese language. Journalists and actors are invited as lecturers to deepen students’ practical understanding of the Japanese language. For students who wish to become Japanese language teachers, a program to teach Japanese at schools in Japan and abroad is also available. More and more foreigners are becoming interested in Japan through animation and food culture. We will nurture human resources who can transmit the Japanese language, backed up by academic studies, to foreign countries. For the department, which focuses on real-life exchanges, the outbreak of the new coronavirus was a blow to the department. Some students had to postpone their planned study abroad programs. On the other hand, there were some positive outcomes, such as the start of online Japanese language joint research with a Croatian university with which the department had been in contact. The 2023 academic year will see the first graduates of the program. Dean Negishi is enthusiastic, saying, “We hope to send out people who can make use of what they have learned through their five senses in society.”
With the start of a new research project, which is part of the Chiyoda Studies Project(千代田学) students, staff and teachers aim to obtain diverse opinions and suggestions from a wide range of community members to analyse how the everyday life in Chiyoda-ku, especially in the Kudanshita, Jimbocho and Ogawamachi neighbourhoods has changed. In accurately reflecting on the diverse opinions of the residents, we can consider and develop better approaches for the revitalization of local communities and re-integrate various policies, including different machizukuri, tourist and local branding plans.
2022-2044 Next Steps include:
Understanding the local community setup
Interviewing different members of the community
Reflecting on the different social problems (as result of in depth data analysis)
Formulating and Suggesting specific approaches for each community
2021 is almost half way done and its always good to make new connections to learn more about the most urgent issues living in this megalopolis. Studio Gross is run by Anne and Sebastian Gross and they established a place which is not only caring to discover but also serving the local neighbourhood in e.g. renovating old and vacant akiya (houses) and organizing events, exhibitions and talks in a local studio they rent inside the long shotengai (shopping street) in Ogu, North Tokyo. Features is the recent renovation of OGU MAG. Looking forward to some great collaboration projects.
They do so much more, so have a look at their website and other social media accounts:
The new semester has not even started yet, but behind the scenes we had some busy weeks to prepare for the start of online classes next week. I am honest if I say that it will be a huge challenge for everybody involved, especially for the new students.
Therefore each week and topic will be as interactive as possible, with videos, chats and different online live activities. I am not sure how long it will be like this but I think we have to prepare for a dual system (on and offline) for the coming months.
It is also out of question that this is a challenging time for everybody out there, starting with small businesses, young and elderly, single and families, but it might be the best to see it also as a chance to rethink our current lifestyle, finding new ways to support each other and the local community.
This might be the chance to improve our daily life in cities and the public spaces we use, appreciate and need to voice our concerns, starting with political, social, environmental and cultural issues we should be addressed now to improve our society as a whole. For this purpose we are preparing some new research and fieldwork projects to be announced soon.
