Category Archives: 地域学習

訪問地, 地域学習, 広島県広島市

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony

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On the surface Hiroshima city is a good example of a well-developed and very industrialized Japanese city. Tall buildings, heavy traffic, and very crowded trains filled with busy Japanese commuters on their way to and from work. You can experience the Japanese lifestyle in Hiroshima, no doubt about that.

But the name of the city hides a more terrible side, a side which most people around the world are more aware of. Most of the world is more familiar with the fact that Hiroshima was the place where the first Atomic Bomb in world history was dropped on a city. In the morning of August 6, 2008, we participated in the annual peace memorial ceremony. The ceremony lasted for one hour with a silent prayer and peace bell at 8.15 (the exact time of the A-bomb drop) as its emotional highlight.

The mood was very melancholy and heartfelt during the day. Almost half a million people from Japan and abroad gathered at the ceremony in honour of the 80,000 people that past away on August 6, 1945, the approximately 60,000 people who died in the very first year directly caused of the radiation around Hiroshima and the Hibakusha, the people who survived the bomb with a life of sickness and emotional scars. Everyone of course recognized the all-important theme of the ceremony – Peace.

Prominent persons such as the Prime Minister of Japan, a representative of the United Nations, as well as the mayor of Hiroshima spoke at the ceremony. Among the things they talked about was how important it is not to forget what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in order to avoid the usage of nuclear weapons in the future. To achieve this universal goal it is necessary for countries to be empathic towards each other, even when it is hard to understand different customs and opinions sometimes.

We can not change the past, but by respecting other countries and cultures, we minimize the risk for future wars.

With the hope nuclear weapons never will be used again,

(Christian Damgaard, Denmark)

訪問地, 地域学習, 広島県広島市

原爆を通じて学んだ “One to One”

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松原さんの第一印象は、普通の中高年齢者とあまり変わらないのではないか、というものでした。しかし近寄ってみると、濃い目の化粧と鋭い視線からとても強い意欲を察する事が出来ました。

人間は顔に何百もの筋肉をもち得ているといいますが、４５分間のお話の間に見せて下さった松原さんの表情は今までに見た事のない物でした。後からになって、松原さんを含む被爆者の多くが幾度もの手術を重ね火傷の後を消している事を学びましたが、彼女のとてつもなく険しい表情がその結果だったかどうか、私が知る事は無いでしょう。

私は彼女の発する英語よりも、英語を学ぶ決意に感動しました。痛ましくも鮮明な彼女の絵には彼女の、原爆の悲惨さを伝えてゆこう、という決意が表れていました。私が思うには、そんな彼女の絵は芸術の原点にあたります。言葉で表現しきれないような経験や感情を表し、他人に分かって貰う為の道具でもあります。

被爆者の話を直に聞けることが出来た私達はとても幸運でした。六十三年前の経験を語って下さった松原さんには心から感謝しています。しかし、松原さんご自身も戦後、日本人でさえにも被爆者として差別を受けていた時に優しくしていただいたあるアメリカ人の女性に助けられていらっしゃったようでした。そのような行為を通じ、松原さんも徐々にアメリカ人を許し、代わりにもう二度とこのような悲劇がおこらないよう、ご自身の経験を伝えて行こうという決意を持つようになったそうです。

後になって初めて気づきましたが、この原爆の教訓は私達World Campus Internationalのありがとうイベントで歌う”One to One”という曲そのもののようです。一人のアメリカ人が松原さんに良くして下さったからこそ、私達がその善意を受ける事ができたのです。更にさかのぼれば、そのアメリカ人が松原さんに親切にするきっかけとなってくれた人にも感謝したくなります。このように、実に一人一人で始まり、どんな人にでも、誰かを変える事が可能なのではないでしょうか。

（東京都大田区出身、吉田有紀）

訪問地, 地域学習, 茨城県水戸市

Visiting the Mito Nuclear Power Plant

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In Denmark we do not use nuclear energy at all and are generally highly against the use of nuclear energy, but I thought it sounded exciting to visit Japan’s oldest nuclear power plant in Mito city and learn more about the use of nuclear energy. Apparently about 30% of Japan’s energy resources come from nuclear energy and there are 55 nuclear power plants spread out all over Japan.

The day before we actually visited the Nuclear power plant, we were divided into two large groups, and here we discussed what we actually knew or thought we knew about the use of nuclear energy. We had a wrap up at the end, and the two groups presented what they had discussed. This gave a good insight to the topic and we had some good discussions.

The following day we visited Japan’s first nuclear power plant, which was built in 1966. First we were driven by bus to a museum-like building where we had a very interesting lecture by Dr. Keizo Takahashi. He told us how the nuclear power plant works and how the energy is produced and distributed (See the illustration above). He also told us his perspective on the pros and cons of nuclear power, although it was obvious that he supported the use of nuclear power. One of the pros is that it does not produce CO2 and therefore does not contribute to global warming, which is a big global concern at the moment. The main problem with the use of nuclear power is the waste disposal, because Uranium continues to stay radioactive for many decades. It is hard to dispose of the nuclear waste in an environmentally friendly way. Apparently Sweden has found a way to dispose of their nuclear waste, but the system is very hard to copy for other nations due to their natural resources.

Another problem is the rare, but catastrophic nuclear accidents, like Chernobyl in 1986. It literally affected millions of people for several generations, so the safety precautions must be at its highest! Uranium, which is the dangerous and radioactive element, is not artificially made, but it is a natural resource, and Canada is by far has the greatest exporter of Uranium in the world.

After lunch we discussed the use of atomic bombs, which countries possessed it and general questions regarding this topic. It was very exciting to learn more about this, but at the same time shocking to hear how little impact the inspections have and how relatively small the fines are for offending countries.

Later on, we were given a tour of the nuclear facility, which was exciting. We also saw a proton accelerator, which was still under construction.

The world’s energy resources is running out, for example will the worlds coal reserves be emptied in 150 years if we continue like we do now. Is nuclear power an alternative? I must admit, that I have a hard time deciding…

(Anders Schaumann, Denmark)

訪問地, 地域学習, 茨城県取手市

Toride City Theme – Community Revitalization

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For me the stay in Toride city is always an interesting one. And that is because of the way that they are taking a community problem and trying to resolve it. Toride is one of the many bedroom cities of the greater Tokyo area that were once thriving and are now suffering with weaning populations and declining activities. What I find most interesting about Toride is the way in which they are reinventing themselves. A creative young teacher from the local branch of a Tokyo art school decided that he wanted to give back to the community by revitalizing it in part with art.

His projects often serve multiple purposes such as giving his artists and himself a showcase for their projects, introduce art to children, or cut down on litter during local summer festivals. Now as an aspiring artist myself, when I came to the city last year I loved what I saw and thought that it was a great idea.

The leader of the Toride art project, Mr. Sobajima and I made a connection and built a friendship. So during my stay in Toride this year, he invited me to come to his office to take part and help him with a project. I jumped at the chance.

We designed trash boxes (in whatever way that we chose) for a large summer festival, to help with a major litter problem, but in the past two years since Mr.Sobajima began helping them, it has been drastically cut down. So I came to his office and got right to work. A fellow artist and friend of his joined us which led to the idea of the three of us all to draw on one trash box as a collaborative effort. It was a lot of fun, and definitely had a striking appearance when finished.

Sadly I had to leave the city before the festival began, so I was unable to see our project in action, but I hope that our box was used well, helpful and inspiring. Toride really is moving along in a great way and I hope are painting a bright future ahead of them.

(Cody Permenter, USA)

訪問地, 地域学習, 東京都多摩市

多摩市のテーマ：人口と社会構造

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大学生と目覚める神秘的な多摩市

二番目の都市は僕らに現代日本の近郊を経験する最前席のチケットを差し出してくれました。東京都多摩市は都心から南西にあり、緑が豊で安全性の高い環境で知られています。東京から電車でたったの三十分ですが忙しい東京とは全く違います。心地よく、のんびりした雰囲気が感じられます。ホストの多くは都心に通勤していますが、住居はこの静かな郊外です。

一日目には多摩市の歴史や文化について学びました。講演の後には二手に別れ、地元の学生達に街を案内してもらいました。僕のグループは街の中心に近い平穏なお寺のある場所へ行きました。五つくらいのお寺があり、それぞれ独特の建築様式で、ほとんどが静かでのどかな雰囲気で美しい花の沢山咲いている素晴らしい公園に囲まれていました。あるご年配の女性は、そこで柔らかな色使いでお釈迦様の絵を書いていました。ロマン主義のようなその絵に僕は安らぎを覚えました。

神秘的な体験に続いて、生徒達はお昼御飯を食べに大学へ連れて行ってくれました。四階建ての建物には驚かされました。その建物は生徒達専用のレストランで一杯だったのです！各種のアイスクリームやアイスキャンデーを揃えた自動販売機までありました。更に日本では、決断の下せそうに無い人や、お楽しみを好む人達には販売械がアトランダムに一つ選んでくれるのです。食べ物の多様さとヒップな雰囲気が大学生活について語ってくれました。多摩市の人口の多くは五十才以上ですが、学生も大部分を構成していて、大学は市の中でも重要な一部です。

街の散策を通して多摩市で共存している二つのコミュニティーを知る事が出来ました。お寺参りが市の高齢者達に合った穏やかな環境を象徴する一方で、大学での昼食は多摩市の若者達の一面を見せてくれました。

（フィンランド出身、ペルトラ・イルッカ）