In the mountains above Takamatsu, Roshi Daito Noda continues on as he has been for the last several decades. In brief, he is extending the temple, drawing upon the historical involvement of Buddhist institutions in communal life with a spirit of humble innovation. A pilgrimage lodging, a dojo, a special education school, several green houses, […]
Japan
LL – Zen Stomach
Accounts of Zen eating Even in the off season, Hayama’s Imperial Village is well-guarded. A combination of guards and police patrol the beach and the lazy commercial district where, on a late February afternoon, full-timers shuffle to and from the grocery store and retirees stroll. We are here to visit the Zen master’s second house, […]
CS – Interview 4: Connecting People, Places, and Ideas Through Teaching and Research
For my final interview, I decided to reach out to Professor Toshi Sasao. Professor Sasao teaches a wide variety of courses at International Christian University (ICU), including those related to Psychology, Education, and Peace studies. This wonderful opportunity was brought about by an education class I took with Professor Sasao that focused on […]
CS – Interview 2: Using Communications to Bridge Japan and America
My second informational interview was with Olivia Kent, the Communications Director of the Japan-America Society of Washington DC, who is currently living in Tokyo as a Japan-Representative of the organization. It was an incredible opportunity to speak with her, and was made possible by a friend of mine, Moi Nee (’24), who interns […]
CS – Interview 1: Intergenerational Community Building
My first networking interview was with my managers at 椎の実ハウス (Shiinomi House), the local community center I volunteer at for my Ted Wang internship. Due to the fact that most of the time I spend at the center is spent with children, I was interested to learn more about my lovely managers, Masako […]
Clementine Starck – Introduction
はじめまして (Hajimemashite・It’s nice to meet you)! My name is Clementine — 日本語で、みかん — and I am a EALC/Japanese and Education Studies double major at Wellesley College, currently studying abroad at International Christian University (ICU) in Tokyo, Japan! I have been in Japan since late August, and plan to return back to Wellesley just in […]
LL – Introduction
Dear all, It’s snowing in Tokyo today, which makes this the perfect time to sit still for a second, something I could not manage during zazen this morning. I’m writing from a Zen temple in Shinagawa, a large suburb, where I arrived yesterday, marking the start of a two week stay. My room is in […]
Japan: Networking Meeting #4
The fourth person I interviewed for my networking component was a Wellesley alumna who works for a credit rating agency in Tokyo. She was incredibly inspiring and helpful and was one of the most interesting insights into the finance industry that I have gotten so far. She was extremely nice and a role model for […]
Japan: Networking Meeting #3
Hello everyone. The third person that I interviewed for my networking component of the program was a JET program Coordination for International Relations (CIR) in the neighboring prefecture of Ibaraki. I met him through a school trip with the Middlebury School in Japan (the exchange program I am part of in ICU, Tokyo) and decided […]
Japan: Networking Meeting #2
The second person I interviewed was a person who had graduated from my high school network, United World Colleges (UWC), was from Japan and after studying university abroad in the UK decided to go back to work in his home country, Japan. He also works for the big four (Deloitte, PwC, Ernst& Young and KPMG) […]