Komaba Times Publishes Issue 10
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Letterfrom THE MOST MEMORABLE of human endeavors can be summed up within a few words: man reaches moon. Jackson moonwalks. Komaba Times publishes Issue 10. In this special anniversary issue, we capture a collective journey through iner- tia–a resistance to change. Although we chose this theme before the pandemic, it be- ISSUEcame all the more apt as we quarantined ourselves, suspending Nº10 any continuation of normal life. Some inertias afect the entire world, while others are contained within the dormitory rooms and 1K apartments which have become our cells. ISSUE Inertia can also describe objects that keep moving after they “stop”.Nº10 This year, through these unusual times, we’ve grown from a small, dedicated team of 8 to having 30 members and counting. Our first graphics team painstakingly created each lovely spread you’ll see. Our new business team distributed this magazine to schools and organizations all over the world. Our innovative translations department bridged the gap between ISSUEthe English-speaking and Japanese-speaking populationNº10 at UTokyo. We are also marking this anniversary issue through a special collaboration with The New York Times. We hope to not only enrich our magazine with the global coverage of the renowned publication, but also to poke our toes in the ISSUEwater and see how we dance with the bestNº10 of them. Featured articles from Todai Shimbun, our university’s longest-running newspaper, further exhibit our hybrid iden- tity. What better way to represent a thriving but almost-unrepresented bilingual audience than to feature both En- ISSUEglish and Japanese content in our Nº10pages? We’ve also revamped our magazine sections to reflect our new editorial direction. “Komaba” is the canvas of our collective student experiences within our immediate local communities. “Social” tackles the problems ISSUEwe see in the world head on, sharpening unformed opinions into thought-outNº10 plans for change. “Culture” concerns all that we enjoy and consume, reflecting on the essence of our favorite pastimes and me- dia. “Creative” serves as the outlet for artistic, poetic, and photographic expression beyond things grounded in mundane reality. ISSUE Nº10 Combined, they give what we’ve always needed as students at UTokyo. We’re not just a combination of majors and classes–we also represent a critical movement of artistic, irresponsible, optimistic, introspective, and future-changing ISSUEyouth. Nº10 ISSUEWe hope you enjoy reading this issue!Nº10 ISSUE Nº10 ISSUE2 Nº10 ISSUE Nº10 Featuring stories from The New York Times & The Todai Shimbun The page layouts are credited through individual : Jade Hwang Table Zhiyun Du oƑ Minami Hase Eriko Yamada Alyssa Castillo Yap ontents Jules Iida C Letter Circles and Century-Old To- from Clubs: Trac- kyo University is 2 the 4ing the Diameters of 6Shaken by Riots Editors Life at utOkyO // Philip Shabecof for Komaba // Sayumi Take The New York Times “Fade into Dis- tant Clamor”:Komaba 8Thinking the Todai 9 10 Student Riots // Prof. // Yone- // Joshua Baxter hara Ari for Nakai Kenta for Social The Grand Wa- To Our Tamed At Japan’s Most To Everyone I Stand ter Fountain Tongues: A Elite University, SocialWho Cares, With 12Conspiracy of Koma- 14Word On Systemic 15Just 1 in 5 Students Is a 18and Everyone Who 20 Tibet ba Campus Racism Woman // Motoko Rich Doesn’t // Mizuki // Mahi Patki // Prof. Yuko Itatsu for The New York Times // Toko Sumiya Takahashi Crazy Why Animal Cross- Thrift- Rich ing Is the Game for ing a 22 Asians 24the Coronavirus Moment // 26Pe r s o n a l i t y // Choi Imad Khan for Trait Culture Jiwoong The New York Times //Maho Nambu How to Pre- Miles Away: Culturetend You’re Memoirs 28in Tokyo // Sebas- 30of One Peninsula 32Editors’ Picks tian Modak for The // Shun // Miscella- New York Times Mizumoto neousCreative A Year How We Use On: One Our Bodies to Creative 33Loveless Tokyo 34Navigate a Pandemic // 35 Venting 38 39 Quarantine Night // Alyssa Gia Kourlas for The New Machine // // Kira Collage // Castillo Yap York Times Miscellaneous Muku for Akari Takahashi Published March 8th 2021 3 Komaba M KO ABA Photographs by Shun Mizumoto 4 circles and clubs: tracing the diameters of life at utOkyO by Sayumi Take “HEY, WELCOME TO TODAI! Do you have any in application forms and interviews. Corporations look for circles you’re thinking of joining?” “You look real ath- those with personalities and skills suited and required for letic. What about playing ball with us? Surely you’re in- the job, and many students present such qualities based on terested in our club.”—Loud, eager voices overwhelm the experiences they’ve had in clubs/circles. Some corpo- freshmen as they timidly make their way through the rations even target particular clubs to hold exclusive job in- endlessly long line of white tents. Standing under the formation sessions for, in the hope of recruiting physically lush green gingko trees, each tent represents a “club” or and mentally trained students who have survived the strict a “circle”. Crawling through this “tent line” (tento-ret- schedule and atmosphere that is characteristic of clubs. su) and trying (and usually failing) to defect passionate, sometimes coercive invitations from clubs and circles is a THOUGH A KERNEL OF UNIVERSITY LIFE IN JA- draining two-hour ritual almost every UTokyo freshman PAN, clubs/circles can include downsides. Most clubs experiences on their frst visit to campus. But it’s also an and some circles are extremely time and energy consum- important event that could decide the outcome of one’s ing that it’s difcult for students to maintain a good bal- campus life and maybe even beyond—a token of the dom- ance with their academics. “Tere were things I couldn’t inance club/circle culture has over university life in Japan. do because of the club, like studying abroad,” refects a third-year of the soccer club who spends 6 days a week WHAT EXACTLY ARE “CLUBS” on the feld and still devotes time to re- AND “CIRCLES”? Clubs (“bukatsu”) viewing past games and PR activities. usually refer to sports teams that rep- “joining clubs/cir- “But I was able to meet friends, seniors, resent the university. Te 58 clubs at cles can be a key and juniors I could trust and respect, UTokyo form the Athletics Foundation to smooth job acquire the toughness needed to con- of the University of Tokyo, a high-sta- hunting—they front unavoidable hardships and chal- tus community backed by decades of are a common lenge myself, and gain insight on how history, and becoming a member re- topic in applica- to efectively manage a group of people.” quires huge commitment. Circles are tion forms and Te student-governed and closed basically all other student communities interviews” quality of many clubs/circles can be a besides clubs. As of 2019, 391 circles source of more serious trouble. Strict are registered in the club/circle search engine managed hierarchical relationships between seniors and juniors by the Orientation Committee at UTokyo, and each cir- and peer pressure can lead to moral/sexual harassment cle community is uniquely colored depending on what or dangerous usage of alcohol and drugs. Clubs/circles they do, how ofen they meet, who’s in it, and so on. are also a potential hotbed of antisocial cults and rad- Clubs and circles are much more than just convenient ical groups, and actual cases have been reported. Al- pastimes. Joining them is the fastest (and sometimes the though universities are taking preventive measures to only) way to make new friends. “I’m just so happy that my protect their students, such as holding seminars and circle of friends expanded,” says a fourth-year of an in-kare establishing consultation hotlines, the threats remain. acapella circle who writes that she gained “friends, mem- ories, acapella skills, knowledge about music, and oppor- FOR MANY JAPANESE STUDENTS, the best memories tunities to interact with students from other universities” of university life are made within the sphere of clubs/cir- from joining the circle. Befriending seniors in one’s club/ cles. Tey are communities where students can fnd close circle is also a campus survival skill—from getting advice friends to stick with and reliable seniors to turn to. Teir on which classes to take and tips for tackling exams to fnd- activities are a treasure box of experiences that enhances ing rare part-time jobs and internships, meeting the right one’s abilities and pave the way for a brighter future. Ten seniors could give you a boost in your grades and career. again, compromises must be made, whether that may Te experience of working together with people in a club/ be giving up on academics or taking month-long breaks circle towards a shared goal, whether it may be winning a to travel or participating in internships. It’s impossible match, staging a play or building an airplane, also teaches to talk about Japanese universities without mentioning members about leadership, teamwork, and other valuable clubs and circles, but they may be just one of the many social skills. Tis is precisely why joining clubs/circles can options to consider when deciding how to spend—as be a key to smooth job hunting—they are a common topic some students put it—“the summer vacation of your life.” 5 Komaba Komaba [1969] TOKYO, JAN. 10—Another in a series of student riots at Tokyo University broke out this afernoon when a group of helmeted radical students, armed with staves, tried to storm a university meeting being held on a rugby feld some distance from the campus. Te meeting, between the school’s administration and students belonging to neutral factions and those allied with the established Japan Communist party, was held away from the school because the radicals had blockaded the campus.