July 5, 2015
Dear Students and Friends
This week was extremely busy with couple events that took place starting from Saturday of the previous week.
I had a class in Ikuta and went back in the afternoon to Yokohama Kanagawaku to meet my previous student who entered Tokyo University of Science, one of the leading science universities in Japan. I recall what he said was my English program helped him to enter and he is grateful for that and most science universities first year fee was about 1.5 million yen except St. Paul(Rikkyo) is 200,000 yen higher and the national university fee was lower but you need Math, English, science, Japanese and social studies(5 subjects)exam to enter.
After meeting him, I went to Takanawa, Tokyo for the afternoon tea meeting at the Friend Center, an accommodation for the Friends to stay, to meet a family from the Ohio Valley Friends and a couple from Canada being a principal in Tokyo for an international school operating in Suginami, Tokyo by Bunka Gakuen to be the first dual diploma school with the Japanese government accredited and British Columbia accredited school. they are both very gentle and nice. The wife is an ordained minister of the United Church of Canada(like Japanese, Nihon Kirisuto Kyuodan). She had an interesting remark on ministry of Presbyterians and of the Friends(Quakers). I learn a lot about the retired or intellectual ministers choice of Friends.
Monday I went up to Kisarazu to meet Fr. Tagawa, SM.
He is a builder and giant builder of the Marianist schools.
Most of schools we see in Japan by Marianists were built by him. Only problem is he doesn't stop. He is 90, but still thinking of building a new elementary school at Nagareyama, Chiba near Tsukuba. He mentioned his problem that took place recently between him and Assistant Principal of his elementary school. It went to a law suit between the two. I listened to his agony and anger including a leader in Catholic schools organization with the support of Archbishop of Tokyo/Chiba
was sent to replace him. The trouble is that school is his school and he solely built with his hard work and donations of his contact and nobody else. I recommended a very nice and devout Catholic, Ph. D. dedicated his life to the school to be the leader of the school but he refused.
I always wanted that school to be the second St. Joseph College and put my dreams for many year with association with him, but I think his interest is putting people to Tokyo University and building forever. He mentioned how great Jesuits are how great Seiko Gakuen, Yokohama building and entrance examination to universities are. I think there is more than that. Something of heart, something of spirit must be there. I left Gyosei International School with despair and disappointment and something I can not express; beyond I have to seek or find my new or detour path taking ahead and don't know how to express and feel sad for those on the board of that huge ship with 65,000 tsubo or 180,000 sq. m. of Campus that is cruising with a leadership of one man only.
GtO
