A plaque on the exterior wall of the Seifu-kan reads, “A university is a place to discover learning, education, and genuine friendship.”  These are the words of OKAMOTO Seiichi, the first president of Kyoto Seika University, though this inscription may be less known than the famous monument, “freedom and autonomy” near the cafeteria.

 

What did Okamoto mean by “learning”?  He used the word “learning” to refer to your endeavor to achieve your full potential.  For example, you may first tackle written books and papers to find out your own idea which can be then expressed in written papers. You may have to fully immerse yourself in the world of music to encounter your own tune.  Or you may pioneer new methods to express unique physical, even spiritual, aesthetic sensations.  You may discover an exotic worldview hidden behind the everyday world, which you can express with comic drawing and carefully planned story.

 

“Education” is what I call our attempts to promote, encourage, and guide you all when you strive to develop your capacities.  Our faculty and staff are ready to help you because we have experienced the same kind of struggles in the lifetime and we feel deep empathy for you facing difficulties in creating your original expression.

 

Here at Kyoto Seika, you will share your own efforts and experiences with your peers.  In the process, you meet “others”, different people by birth, upbringing, and in some cases, nationality.  Just as you learned your mother tongue by playing with your kindergarten friends, you will learn how to get along in life by mixing with your friends. Making friends here does not yield any profits nor bring any promotion.  This might seem obvious and natural, but your college years probably give you the last opportunity to have genuine friendship. This kind of friendship is rooted so deeply in each one’s mind that it will not be affected by ups and downs in life. 

 

Learning, education, and genuine friendship—it is up to you, and you alone, to discover these three treasures of life.  I sincerely hope you will find them here at our university.  Or it may take you many years after graduation to realize what you really found here.

It is for that moment that this university exists.