2016年の春、私達は様々な思いを胸に立命館大学に入学しました。それから私達は多くのことを学び、充実した学生生活を経てこの立命館大学を卒業いたします。

　私が高校生の時に抱いていたのは地元富山県で公務員として働きたいという漠然とした思いでした。その思いを実現するために立命館大学を選び、大学生活の4年間を振り返ると、学業においては法学という学問の、身の回りの事象に法律を適用して学問として改めて学ぶことへの面白さを感じる反面、論理的に考えていくことに難しさも感じました。

　学校が敷いたレールに乗りながら学業に取り組む高校時代とは異なり、自分の目標を明確にして学ぶ分野を選択し、自分なりの勉強方法で学習していくことに大いに戸惑ったことを今でも鮮明に覚えています。

　将来の目標が明確になったのは２回生の公務行政特修というコースを選択してからです。

　多くの授業の中で、公務員の方々のお話を伺う機会が何度もあり、そのお話を伺う中で、公務員という仕事が制度の中でいかに民間企業や各団体が上手く動けるかを社会全体をみながら業務に取り組むというスケールの大きさ、また、普段、私達の目にとまるような業務だけでなく、1つの自治体や1つの政策に対していくつもの分野からアプローチをしていくという業務の多様性を知り、これまで以上に公務員という仕事を具体的にイメージすることができ、一層この仕事に惹かれるようになりました。さらに、地元を離れて生活している中で、客観的に見ると自然の恵みや暮らしやすさといったもともと持っている富山県ならではの良さに改めて気づき、この県の魅力を引き出し、多くの人に知ってもらえるよう行政として取り組んでいきたいという思いが強くなりました。

　そこで３回生のゼミでは、行政法のゼミを選択し、ゼミでは行政法理論を学ぶとともに、行政をめぐる様々な社会情勢についてゼミ生とともに意見交換を行いました。こうしたゼミの中での活動は、社会に対して自分の意見を持つこと、様々な意見の中で行政として方針を持ち、取り組んでいくべきことを考えなければならない重要性を学び、より実務的に社会情勢をとらえることができるようになったと感じています。そのときから、ある社会問題に対して公務員として自分であればどのように対応するのかを具体的に思い描くようにしています。

　大学では、今まで経験したことのない様々なものに挑戦したい、という思いから、課外活動に積極的に取り組みました。学内では、法学会学生委員会・回生担当部の副部局長として新入生ガイダンスやゼミ見学会・ゼミを語る会などの企画運営を行い、学外では、サークルやアルバイト、ボランティア、NPO団体での活動などに取り組みました。このような活動の中で様々な価値観を持った方々と出会って、自分の視野が広がり、高齢者社会が抱える問題、中小企業が抱える問題など、それぞれの地域が抱える問題に気づくことができたと実感しています。今までは学生として感じてきた問題意識を、社会人になると、より多くの視点から感じることができると共に、その問題により深く関わって取り組んでいくということに将来に様々な可能性があることが感じられ、将来の展望が開かれていくような気持ちです。

　私たち卒業生は立命館大学を卒業します。卒業生は皆、それぞれ進んでいく進路は違います。そして、立命館大学での学生生活は終わるかもしれません。しかし、人生に卒業はなく、本日は新たな道へのスタートでもあります。そして、私たちは新たな道で起こりうる事に思いをはせ、期待や不安、様々な思いを持っています。そのような中でも、立命館大学で過ごした日々はかけがえのないものとして私たちの心の中に残り続けます。この立命館大学で得られたことを忘れず、今後の人生を新たな目標に向かって確実に進み続けます。

　最後となりますが、今まで熱心にご指導くださった先生方、私たちの学生生活がよりよいものとなるよう日々ご尽力いただきました職員の方々、私たちの最も近くでいつも支えてくださった家族の皆様、そしてともに学生生活を送ってきた友人など多くの方々に卒業生代表として心から感謝を申し上げまして、卒業生代表の挨拶とさせていただきます。

卒業生代表
法学部 法学科 公務行政特修
北川 ゆり

In the spring of 2016, we enrolled at Ritsumeikan University with our hearts filled with various dreams and thoughts. Since then, we have learned many things, and now after leading a rich and abundant student, we are graduating from the Ritsumeikan University.

As a high school student, I had a vague image of working as a civil servant for Toyama Prefecture, my hometown. To fulfill that desire, I chose Ritsumeikan University. Looking back on my four years of university life, I found that studying law as an academic discipline was interesting when applying the law to events in our daily life and also felt difficulty in thinking things logically. Unlike my high school days, where studying was a matter of following a course the school had laid out for me, I now had to choose an area to study by defining my own goals and finding my own way of studying. I still remember clearly that I was confused by the difference.

My goal became clear when I chose the Public Administration course in my sophomore year. In many of my classes, I had a lot of opportunities to listen to many civil servants talk about their jobs. I learned from their talks that the job of civil servants requires a far-reaching endeavor to keep an eye on society at large so that the private sector and various organizations can function smoothly in the system. I also learned about the diversity of the job that involves much more than meets the eye, such as approaches to a local government or a single policy from various fields. I was able to visualize the job of civil servant and was more attracted by the job. Moreover, living away from my hometown gave me the opportunity to objectively look at Toyama Prefecture and appreciate its uniqueness, such as its natural resources and ease of living. This strengthened my resolve to draw out the charm of the prefecture and promote it to more people from a public administrative standpoint.

This is why I chose the seminar on public administrative law for my junior year. In this seminar, I studied administrative law theory and exchanged opinions with other seminar students about various social situations surrounding public administration. Activities in seminars like this have taught me the importance of having my own opinion toward society, having a policy among various opinions from a public administrative standpoint, and thinking about what needs to be addressed. I feel that has given me the ability to understand social situations in a more practical manner. Since then, I have tried to visualize specific actions that I would take if I were a civil servant regarding various social issues.

At university, I actively participated in extracurricular activities because I wanted to try various things I had never experienced before. I served as the vice secretariat of the Society of Law Student Council. On campus, I planned and conducted various events for new students, including guidance sessions, seminar tours, and talk sessions about seminars. Off campus, I engaged in circle activities, part-time jobs, volunteer work, and activities in NPOs. These activities brought me in touch with people who hold various values, which has broadened my perspective, and helped me become aware of various problems in each region, such as those of the aging society and those of small and medium-sized companies. I feel that my awareness toward problems as a student will take on even more perspectives when I become a working member of society and that engaging in those problems on a deeper level will present all kinds of possibilities in the future, leading to opening up a new vista to me.

Today, we graduate from Ritsumeikan University. Each of us will follow a different path. Although it may be the end of our student lives at Ritsumeikan University, there is no graduation in life. Today is the beginning of a new path. When thinking about what this new path will hold in store for us, we embrace various feelings such as expectations and anxiety, and various thoughts. Even so, the days we spent at Ritsumeikan University will remain in our hearts as an irreplaceable part of us. We will not forget what we gained at Ritsumeikan University and continue to steadily move on with our lives toward new goals.

In closing, on behalf of the graduating class, I express my heartfelt appreciation to the teachers who guided us energetically to this day, the faculty members who worked hard to make our student lives better each day, our families who stood by our side and supported us, and our friends and everyone else who spent their student lives with us.

Yuri Kitagawa
Valedictorian
College of Law, Department of Law

　はじめに、これまで私たちを多方面から支えて下さった、学長、理事長をはじめ教職員、ご家族の皆様に卒業生一同より厚く御礼申し上げます。卒業式は、新型コロナウイルスの感染状況に鑑み、中止となりました。とても残念なことではありますが、それ以上に一刻も早く事態が収束し、平穏な日々が戻ってくることを願うばかりです。

　この様な事態の中ではありますが、私たちは無事に卒業の日を迎えることができました。4年間の大学生活の始まりでもある入学式は、今でも鮮明に思い出されます。まだ着慣れないスーツに身を包み、家族に見守られながら迎えた入学式は少し気恥ずかしく、またこれから始まる大学生活への期待と不安が入り交じり、なんとも言い難い感情でした。こうして始まった大学生活では、慣れない環境に戸惑いながら、周りに遅れまいと毎日必死で、気持ちばかり焦っていたことをよく覚えております。けれどもそれもいつしか無くなり、講義の中での面白さや新たな友人との出会いに日々を謳歌していました。

　その様な生活にも慣れてきたころ、周りを見れば友人たちは新しいことを次々に始めていました。しかし、心配性で怖がりの私は、新しいことに挑戦することが苦手でした。そんな自分を変えたく、自らの殻を破りたいと強く思った私は、あまり深く考えず、とにかく飛び込んでみてから考えよう、と思うようになりました。それからというもの、日々の勉学に加え、オーストラリアへの短期留学、中国でのフィールドワーク、半年間ベンチャー企業の方々と密に関われるインターンシップ等、自分が興味を持ったものに参加していきました。そこから徐々に挑戦を怖いから楽しい、と思えるようになりました。これらの大学生活での経験を通じて、多くの方々や価値観に触れられただけでなく、新たな自分とも出会うことができ、今では何物にも代えがたい自らの財産となっています。

　区切りとなる卒業という日を迎えられたことは、第一に両親のおかげだと思っております。私たちをこれまで育てて下さり、大学にも通わせていただき、いつでも愛情深く見守って下さり、本当にありがとうございました。そして、時間も知識もを惜しまず沢山のことを教えて下さった先生方。また私たちが学びたいものを存分に学べるようにと、学びの環境を整えて下さった職員の皆様。その他にも、私たちの見えないところで、数え切れないほどの方々が私たちのために動いてくださり、そして支えて下さったからこそ、この日を迎えられたと思っております。本当にありがとうございました。そして振り返ると、とても短く感じられる4年間で溢れんばかりの思い出を作ることができたのは、大切な友人たちがいつも傍に居てくれていたからです。心から感謝しています。

　4月から私は社会に出ます。学生から社会人へとの新たなステップを迎えている今、大きな不安とまだ見ぬ世界への興味が湧いてきます。これから私たちを取り巻く社会は急速に変化していき、これまで以上に様々な問題や困難が生まれることと思います。それらを解決へと導くことが「社会」のために働く、ということであれば、正直私自身、「社会」のために働くというのは、まだ上手くは想像できません。だからこそ、「社会」のためと思ってではなく、まずは目の前の人、一人ひとりに感謝と尊敬の念を抱きながら、できるだけ丁寧に向き合っていきたいと思います。まだまだ未熟な私ですが、これまで多くの方々に支えられてきた分、これからは人から頼られ、また支えることのできる人になるために、日々精進し続けたいと思っております。卒業生一同、ここ立命館大学で学び、経験したことを財産とし、立命館大学卒業生としての誇りを胸に、新たな道へと踏み出します。

　最後になりますが、先生方、職員の皆様、友人、家族に改めて心より御礼申し上げます。こんなにも大勢の方々に支えられ、卒業の日を迎えられたことをとても幸せに思います。そして、このような挨拶をする機会をいただけたことに感謝し、立命館大学のさらなる発展と皆様のご健勝を祈念いたしまして卒業生代表の挨拶とさせていただきます。

卒業生代表
経済学部国際経済学科
藤﨑 由香子

Yukako Fujisaki
Script for the graduate representative’s address

We are all so pleased to attend our graduation ceremony today.
I can still clearly recall the entrance ceremony, which was the beginning of our four years of college life.
I remember I felt a bit embarrassed at the entrance ceremony, as I was wearing a suit, which made me feel awkward, and my family was in attendance. I also had a feeling that I cannot describe as I felt expectations and anxieties at the same time for the forthcoming college life.
My college life started this way, and I clearly remember that I was at a loss due to the unfamiliar environment, desperate every day to catch up with others, and I always felt like I should rush.
However, those days were gone soon afterward, and I started to enjoy my everyday life, attending intriguing lectures and making new friends.

As I was getting used to college life, other students around me started doing new things one after another, such as circle activities and part-time jobs.
But, as I was a worrier and timid by nature, I was always reluctant to start something new.
However, I wanted to change myself and get out of the box; I decided not to overthink and began to think that I should try first and then think.
After that, in addition to my daily studies, I started to actively pursue a new environment, such as studying abroad in Australia, fieldwork in China, and participating in internships that enabled me to interact closely with venture entrepreneurs for as long as six months.
Through these new experiences, I was able to meet a variety of people, acquire unique values, and find a new self, all of which are an irreplaceable asset for me.

We all have different valuable attempts and precious memories throughout our college lives, but from now we will move forward on the path that we decided to take on our own.

Let me take this opportunity to thank our parents, who made it possible for us to start a new life today.
Thank you very much for raising us so far and for letting us go to college, and for always helping us with affection.

Thank you very much to the faculty who generously taught us a lot, spending long hours to give us an enormous amount of knowledge.
Thank you very much to the staff members who offered the optimal learning environment so that we could thoroughly learn what we wanted to learn.
Countless other people have worked on our behalf and supported us discreetly, which also helped us graduate today.
Thank you so much.

And in retrospect, the past four years now seem so short. I was able to make lots and lots of memories because my precious friends were always at my side. I am grateful to them from the bottom of my heart.

Speaking like this makes me realize how blessed I am to have supportive people around, who made my college life fulfilled and enjoyable, and I find myself feel like I want to stay here forever.
However, I will start working as a civil servant from April.
Now that we are taking a new step from being students to becoming working adults, we cannot help but have considerable anxieties and significant interests in the world we have never seen before.
Going forward, the society around us will change rapidly, and I think that more problems and difficulties will arise than ever before.
If solving those problems and difficulties means doing what it takes to work for “society,” in all honesty, I still do not have a clear picture in my mind of what it is like to work for the “society.”
Therefore, I’d like to face each of the people in front of me as carefully as possible, with appreciation and respect, not just for the sake of society.
I am still immature, but because many people have supported me so far in my life, I will continue to work hard every day to become an individual who is reliable and supportive to others.

We, graduates, will take advantage of what we have learned and experienced here at Ritsumeikan University and will move on a new path with pride as graduates of Ritsumeikan University.

Finally, I would like to thank faculty, staff members, and my friends and family once again.
I am delighted to have a graduation ceremony today, thanks to support from so many people.

I feel very honored that I was given the opportunity to address the audience today. And I wish all the best for the further development of Ritsumeikan University and well-being of all of you who are here today.

　卒業という節目を迎える今、改めてこれまでの大学生活を振り返ると、非常に充実した四年間だったと感じます。そんな私の大学生活は、大きく三つの軸から構成されていたと振り返ることができます。

　一つ目は、立命館での学びです。高校の授業とは違い、将来に向けて、自身の関心や学習意欲にしたがって履修計画を立てることに、入学当初は大きく戸惑い、苦労しました。しかし、二年次からは、経営学に関する、より幅広い知識と実践力を身に付けることができる受講科目が増え、強い関心のあったマーケティングに関する学びを拡げることができました。今まで知らなかった知識と出会い、蓄えることに楽しさを見出すことができたのは、本学での学びによるところが大きいと感じています。受動的に講義を受けるだけでなく、能動的に自ら率先して知識を深める姿勢を身に付けることができたと感じています。

　二つ目は、四年間を通して、入試広報学生スタッフに所属し、立命館の魅力を受験生に伝える活動を行ってきたことです。オープンキャンパスでは、キャンパスの案内や、自身の受験勉強・大学生活について、受験生と個別に相談に乗ることもありました。所属当初は、人前で話をすることに苦手意識がありましたが、活動を通して、自分から受験生に積極的に話しかけるようになり、そんな自分の成長に驚くこともありました。受験生各々のニーズに合った情報を、自身の経験から具現化して伝えることで、誇りと責任をもって立命館の魅力を多くの人に知って頂くことができたと思っています。私にとって、「自分に何ができるのか」、「どうすればより分かりやすく相手に伝わるのか」を自問自答し、試行錯誤を重ねる中で、向上心が養われた経験であったと感じています。

　そして三つ目は、私の大学生活を充実へと大きく導いてくれた三年次からのゼミ活動です。二年間かけて蓄えてきた知識を実践として活かすことのできる機会が多く、ディベート大会やビジネスプランコンテストへの参加、共同での論文執筆活動など、ゼミの仲間と過ごしてきた日々は、毎日が刺激的でした。寝る間を惜しんで議論を交わす中で、時には意見がすれ違い、グループで課題に取り組むことの難しさ、自身の思考力の未熟さに悩むこともありました。しかし、仲間の柔軟な発想力や切り口の違うアプローチなど、私一人では到底考えつくことができないプロセスで解に辿り着くことが幾度となくありました。仲間と意見を出し合い切磋琢磨することで、プラスαの力を生み出すことができた経験と、それを共にしてきたゼミの仲間は、私にとって、大学生活で得た何物にも代えがたい宝物です。私の大学生活を彩ってきたこの三つの軸と、そこで得た仲間との絆は、これから先、どんな逆境に立たされた時でも私の支柱となり、今後の人生の糧になると思っています。

　今日、立命館大学を卒業し、今後更に学問を突き詰めるべく進学する人、就職し社会の一員として邁進する人、夢に向かって果敢に挑戦する人も、ここから先はそれぞれが自らの意思で決めた道を歩んでいきます。立命館大学の卒業生であることに誇りを持ち、より良い未来のため、弛まぬ研鑽を続けていきます。

　最後になりましたが、今日まで熱心にご指導してくださった先生方、私たちを温かく支えて下さった職員の皆様に改めて御礼申し上げるとともに、切磋琢磨しながら苦楽を共にしてきた仲間、どんな時も愛情いっぱいに育んでくれた家族に心から感謝致します。皆様方のますますのご活躍とご多幸をお祈りするとともに、今日から母校となる立命館大学の更なる発展を願い、卒業生代表の挨拶とさせて頂きます。

卒業生代表
経営学部経営学科
長谷 志穂

Commencement ceremony speech by representative of graduates

Recalling my years at Ritsumeikan University on this graduation day, I can say that my college life was very fruitful. And that life was roughly divided into three key parts.

The first part was learning. Classes at Ritsumeikan were different from the ones at high school. Here, students were asked to decide courses to take in accordance with their interests and motivation for study—with an eye toward their future. This was a system which left me at a loss and in a difficult situation at the beginning. But in the second year I was able to learn more about marketing that I had strong interest in because I was allowed to take more business economics classes which helped to acquire broader knowledge and practical skills for business administration. I feel that it is largely thanks to my learning at Ritsumeikan University that I was able to find a joy in encountering new knowledge and accumulating it. I was able to develop the positive attitude of expanding knowledge on my own initiative, instead of just taking classes passively.

The second part of my four-year college life was having joined a student-led public relations group to promote the appeals of Ritsumeikan University to senior exam students. At an Open Day for high school students, I undertook a range of activities, including touring them around the campus and offering personalized advice to them based on my own experiences, such as how to pass the entrance exam and how my campus life was. Soon after I joined the group, I found that I was not good at speaking in front of others. By taking part in various events, however, I came to be able to take the initiative to speak to high school students and was surprised at such a development in myself. Now, I believe that I was able to convey the attractiveness of Ritsumeikan University with pride and responsibility to the high school students who visited the campus as I concretely provided them with information according to each student’s need based on my experiences. My experiences at the student group went through a series of trials and errors while asking myself what I can do and how I can have myself understood more effectively. Through these experiences, I was able to lift my motivation for self-improvement.

The third part of my life at Ritsumeikan was a seminar, which I took part in from the third year. The seminar played a great role in improving my life at the university. Through the seminar, I was able to use my knowledge in the first two years on many practical fronts. Specifically, I participated in debate tournaments and business-planning contests, and wrote a joint dissertation. My days with my seminar mates were stimulating every day. During a seminar lodging trip, we limited sleeping time to continue discussion. Despite prolonged discussion, we were not able to narrow differences on some topics, which highlighted the difficulty of group-based work. When discussion was deadlocked at the seminar, I was made aware of the lack of my ability, which was distressing for me. However, many problems were able to reach solution thanks to flexible ideas and unique approaches presented by colleagues, which must have been unconceivable and unimaginable without them. We were able to exert extra power because we worked together to address different opinions presented by each of us. Spending days with seminar mates was a valuable experience for me during my college life, which is a treasure that cannot be replaced by anything. I am convinced that the above three parts that formed my college life and the bonds of friendship I built there will continue to support me under any adverse circumstances in the future and serve as spiritual nourishment for my life.

After graduating from Ritsumeikan University, some of us will continue study at an academic institution while others will take jobs as members of the working population. There are also people who will take on challenging tasks or missions to make their dreams come true. What we will do and where we will go from now on will be decided by each of us. We are resolved to continue hard work for a better future with pride in having studied at Ritsumeikan University.

Finally, I would like to express our gratitude once again to teaching staff at the university for supporting us on the academic front and other staff for providing warm support to us on the administrative front. My sincerest gratitude will also go to my friends at the university with whom we have been through a lot together and my families, who have loved me at any time. My prayers and best wishes go out to all these people for their happiness and Ritsumeikan University, my alma mater from today, for its further prosperity. Now, I conclude my graduation speech on behalf of all others who will graduate today.

Shiho Hase
Valedictorian
Business Administration, College of Business Administration

　肌を刺すような冷たい外気がいつのまにかやわらぎ、吹く風に春の訪れを感じるようになりました。

　立命館大学に入学してから４年の時を経て卒業を迎えることを嬉しく思いながらも、それだけでは隠しきれない寂しさと、名残惜しさが今なお胸にこみ上げています。しかし、その切なさこそが私がこの大学で過ごした日々が、かけがえのないものであったことを示していると、春の桜を心に浮かべながら、思う次第です。

　瞬きの合間に過ぎ去っていった学生生活は、私が思う以上に多くの人々に支えられた日々でありました。入学式の前に学域で開催されたオリエンテーションで初めて出会った友人達を抜きに、私の大学生活を語ることは出来ません。不安と緊張が混ざり合って石のようになっていた私が、こうして笑顔で卒業を迎えることが出来たのは間違いなく彼女たちの存在のおかげです。多様多彩な授業を行ってくださった先生方には、私の不真面目さをお詫びすると同時に、先生方の人生を捧げて得た知識を、授業を通して授けてくださったことに感謝いたします。京都での生活全てを、実家から応援し続けてくれた両親には言葉を尽くしても言い表せぬ程の思いがあります。私が私の足だけで歩めたことなどただの一時もなく、どんな時も、誰かの存在なくしては進めぬ一歩だったのだと、振り返って強く思います。

　私は２回生の時に哲学･倫理学専攻に進み、ドイツ哲学者のニーチェについて卒業論文を執筆することで４年間の学びの総括としました。しかし、４年間ニーチェ漬け、哲学漬け、という訳では決してなく、他学域、他学部の授業も受講することができる制度のおかげで、倫理や芸術、宗教、コミュニケーション等々についても豊富に学ぶことができました。これらの知識が直接卒業論文に生きはしませんでしたが、それよりも重要な、人生という広さのなかの何処かで、何時か、積み重なった他の多くの経験と共に、私の一欠片になるのでしょう。

　知識と経験がなくとも生きることは可能です。しかし、より豊かに、より深く、より愛情をもって生きるためには、知識と経験は必要不可欠なのだと、哲学の知識と、哲学という経験を経て、若輩ながらも実感します。人は一人では生きることができないということと同じように、それは誰もが知っていて、当たり前の事実であるはずなのに、私達はこれを多くの場合忘れがちです。教えてもらわなくても分かっていると思い込んでいたことを、ただの思い込みであったと認識できるということ。学びとは本来、そこから始まるのだと知りました。

　私は学業で優秀と言われるような成績を修めましたが、実のところ、それにはあまり価値を感じていません。このようなひねくれが私の性根の故であるのか、それとも哲学の故なのか、その両方なのかはさておき、いかなる結果であったのかはさほど重視していませんし、それが人々にとっていかなる結果であったのかは更に重要なことではありません。私が私の大学生活を、桜のごとき美しさと儚さであったと述べるのは、その日々の中、過程の中、過ごした時の一つ一つの重なりのためです。それは時に瞬間であり、出会いであり、人であり、全てがよろこびと共にあったのではなく、悲しみや苦しみも多く存在していました。ですが、私にとってはその全てが欠かすことのできない一つです。それは結果に左右されるものでも、誰かの言葉に惑わされることでもありません。その瞬間のよろこびはよろこびのまま、悲しみは悲しみのまま、共に生きていくことが私にとって何より大事なことです。

　４月から私達は新たな場所で、新たな人と共に、新たな生活を始めてくこととなります。その新しさのなかでも、これまでの一つ一つと共に、誰かとの一歩を踏み出しながら、その日々が欠かせぬ一欠片となることを、祈っています。

　最後になりましたが、未熟な私達をご指導くださった先生方、学生生活を支えてくださった職員の方々、そして今日まで私達を温かく見守ってくださったすべての方々に、卒業生を代表し、心より御礼申し上げます。皆様方のご健勝と、立命館大学のさらなる発展を祈念いたしまして、卒業生代表の挨拶とさせていただきます。

卒業生代表
文学部人文学科 人間研究学域哲学･倫理学専攻
安食 美花

Speech for the Commencement Ceremony of College of Letters

With the cold and piercing air subsiding, we can feel the wind ushering in the arrival of spring.

Four years have passed since I entered Ritsumeikan University. Now that I will be graduating, I have mixed feelings rising within me, not only of happiness but also of sadness and the sorrow of parting. While I think about spring cherry blossoms, I realize that this heartrending feeling reflects how my days at the university have come to hold an irreplaceable meaning for me.

I feel as if my student years have passed by in a flash, but throughout my daily school life, I have received the support from numerous people, in fact, more than I am aware of. I cannot recount my university life without the friends I met for the first time at the orientation for undergraduate studies before the entrance ceremony. At the time I was feeling anxious and tense, but the fact that I can now graduate with a smile is, without doubt, due to the support from my friends. To my professors, who taught a great diversity of classes, I apologize for my behavior which was unserious at times. At the same time, I am deeply grateful for imparting the knowledge, which you had acquired throughout life, to us through your classes. I also do not have enough words to thank my parents who continued supporting my life in Kyoto from home. Looking back, I strongly believe that I always received support when taking a step forward and that I would not have been able to do so without the presence of those individuals.

In my second year at university, I decided to major in philosophy/ethics and completed my four years of studies with a graduation thesis on the German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche. However, I did not spend my four years at university just researching Nietzsche and philosophy. The undergraduate curriculum allowed me to attend classes in other fields and departments, and I was also able to study in depth, ethics, art, religion, communication and so on. Although the knowledge I gained in these areas did not necessarily have a direct link with my thesis, I believe that more importantly, they will become a fragment of my life, in a broader sense, along with the numerous other experiences which I have accumulated along the way.

It is possible to live a life without knowledge and experience. However, I have learnt through the knowledge and experience which I gained through philosophy that both knowledge and experience are indispensable for living a richer, deeper, and loving life, although I need more life experience. We are all aware of the fact that no man can live alone but often tend to forget this fact. We can realize that what we believe we know without being taught is just a preconception. I have come to understand that this is where learning starts.

I have achieved what others may regard as academically high grades at university, but I personally do not place much importance on this fact. This may be due to my personal attitude or due to philosophy, or a mixture of both, but either way, I do not think that the results are that important. It is even less important what they mean to other people. The reason why I mention that my university life was like the beauty and fragility of cherry blossoms is that it was an amalgamation of each day, process, and moment spent. It is made up of moments, encounters, and people. Not everything was joyful, and there were many instances of sorrow and pain. However, all are indispensable to me and together form a whole. Thus, my university life is not affected by the results which I received or by the words of others. I find that what is of the utmost importance for me is to accept each moment of joy as joy, sadness as sadness, and to live with such feelings.

From April we will be starting a new life in a new place and with new people. In these new beginnings, I hope that we will meet people and take a step forward and that these moments in our daily life will become essential fragments, adding to each and every one of the past fragments.

Lastly, on behalf of the graduating students, I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to the professors who guided us, the administrative staff who supported our student life, and to all the people who have kindly watched over us until today. I pray for your good health and the continuing success of Ritsumeikan University.

Mika Ajiki
Valedictorian
College of Letters, Field of Humanities, Human Studies Program, Major of Philosophy and Ethics

　私たちは2016年4月に、希望と不安を抱えながら立命館大学に入学しました。それから早くも4年の月日が経ち、振り返ると大学生活の様々な出来事が思い起こされます。

　私は、1967年度に理工学部土木工学科を卒業した祖父の影響を受け、土木工学科の後身である、都市システム工学科に入学しました。幼いときから祖父による土木教育を受けてきたことにより、土木分野への興味を人一倍強く持っておりました。しかしながら、入学直後の1回生のときに受ける授業の多くは、専門外の科目が多く、授業内容にあまり興味を持てないときもありました。モチベーションがあまり高くない状態で1年が過ぎ、2回生に上がって、ようやく専門性の高い授業を取れるようになりました。しかしながら、大変興味深い内容であったものの、難易度が高く、理解することが決して容易ではありませんでした。

　興味があるけど分からない、そんなギャップに苦しみながら数カ月経ったある日、一人の先輩に出会いました。その方は、「学科の専門科目を互いに教え合うことができる場を作りたい」と話され、学科のために尽力されておりました。それを聞いて感銘を受けるとともに、自分も学科のために行動を起こしたいと、強く刺激されました。そこで、普段の学びが、実際にどのような形で活かされているかといったことを、知るための機会を設けたいと思いました。先生を通じてインフラの建設現場を紹介して頂き、小規模ではあるものの見学会を設けて頂きました。見学会を通じ、机上で学んでいる内容と実際の現場との関連や違いについて学び、現場を知ることの大切さに気付きました。

　その後、他に何かできることはないか、そう考えていた矢先に、平成30年7月豪雨や台風21号など大規模な自然災害が頻発しました。ニュースなどで映された悲惨な光景に、少しでも被害を小さくしたいと強く感化され、自然災害に対する防災・減災に関わりたいと強く思いました。

　この目標を実現すべく、立命館大学防災フロンティア研究センターの活動に参加することにしました。防災フロンティア研究センターは、災害科学、防災工学、情報通信学、センサー工学といった異分野を融合して対策提案を行っており、本学部のみならず、情報理工学部などの他学部とも連携して取り組まれております。研究センターの活動として、シンポジウムやセミナー、被災地視察会があり、3回生の秋学期から現在まで継続的に参加してまいりました。被災地視察では、平成30年7月豪雨の広島県内の被災地を視察し、同じ町内であるにもかかわらず被災の程度に大きな差があることや、土石流が発生した川の普段の水量は、側溝を薄く流れる程度でしかないなど、現場に行くことによって初めて学ぶことがありました。ここでも、現場に行き，自分の目で直接見ることの大切さを実感しました。

　私は、元来、材料工学に対して興味があり、社会基盤材料を取り扱う、インフラマテリアル研究室に所属しております。今後も、防災・減災に関わる研究活動を行い、材料工学の視点から防災・減災に貢献していきたいと思います。また、この4年間で身をもって体感した、現場に足を運ぶことの大切さを忘れずに、4月からの立命館大学 大学院での研究活動においても実践し続けていきたいと思います。

　大学生活の4年間は、瞬く間にすぎさり、私たちは本日、立命館大学を卒業します。4月から、それぞれが新しい道へと歩み始めますが、その道の先に幾多の困難が待ち受けていることもあるかと思います。そのようなときに、立命館大学で身に付けた知識や経験を活かして自らの道を切り開いて進んでいくことを誓います。

　最後になりましたが、いつも熱心に指導して頂きました先生方、たくさんの刺激を与えてくださいました先輩方、幾多の苦楽を共にした友人たち、いつでも温かく見守ってくれた家族、その他大学生活を支えてくださった皆様方に、心より感謝申し上げます。そして立命館大学のますますの発展と皆様方のご多幸を祈念いたしまして、卒業生代表の挨拶とさせていただきます。

卒業生代表
理工学部 都市システム工学科
坂野 大世

Commencement Address on behalf of FY2019 Graduates of the College of Science and Engineering

In April 2016, we enrolled in Ritsumeikan University filled with hope and anxiety. Since then, four years have passed, and when looking back, various memories of my university life came across my mind.

Inspired by my grandfather who graduated from the Department of Civil Engineering in the College of Science and Engineering in academic year 1967, I entered the Department of Civil Engineering. Since I was young, my grandfather taught me about civil engineering, so I’ve always been very interested in this field. However, many of the classes I took in my freshman year were about subjects outside of this specialty, and I found it hard to develop an interest in them. After spending a year with a moderate level of motivation, I was finally able to take classes that were highly specialized in my second year. However, while these classes were extremely interesting, they were highly advanced and difficult to understand.

I struggled over a dilemma for several months under the situation that the classes were interesting but difficult. Then one day, I met a senior schoolmate who was making efforts for the department with the aim to create a place where students can teach one another about specialized subjects in the department. I was impressed with his intension and also felt a strong desire to take action for my own department. The idea I had was to create an opportunity to demonstrate how things that we learn every day are used in real life. My teacher introduced me to a construction site for infrastructure and arranged for a small-scale tour. Through this tour, I learned how the things we study in the classroom relate to or differ from what goes on at an actual work site, which made me realize the importance of knowing the work site.

After this, just as I was wondering if there were any other things I might be able to do, a series of large-scale natural disasters hit Japan, such as the heavy rainfall in July 2018 and Typhoon Jebi. The disastrous sites shown in the news and other media deeply inspired me to do something to minimize the damage as much as possible, and urged me to become involved in natural disaster prevention and mitigation.

To achieve this goal, I decided to participate in the activities of the Ritsumeikan University Frontier Research Center for Natural Disaster Mitigation. The Frontier Research Center for Natural Disaster Mitigation proposes countermeasures based on a fusion of different fields that include disaster science, disaster prevention engineering, information and communication science, and sensor engineering. The center operates in collaboration with various colleges, such as the College of Science and Engineering. The research center activities include symposiums and seminars, and inspections of disaster-struck areas. I have participated continuously since the fall semester of my junior year. We inspected the area in Hiroshima Prefecture hit by heavy rainfall in July 2018. This site opened my eyes to many things that I could not have learned just through classes, such as the fact that the extent of damage was greatly different even in the same town and that the amount of water in the river where a debris flow occurred is usually just a light flow in the gutter. Here again, I experienced the importance of going to the site and seeing with my own eyes.

My original interest has been material engineering, and I belong to the Materials and Structures for Sustainable Infrastructures lab, which handles materials for social infrastructure. I will continue research activities related to disaster prevention and mitigation and want to contribute to disaster prevention and mitigation from the perspective of material engineering. Keeping in mind the importance of visiting the work site, which I experienced firsthand for the past four years, I will continue to practice this in my research activities in graduate school at Ritsumeikan University from April.

The four years of university life have passed by in a flash. Today, we graduate from Ritsumeikan University. From April, each of us will go our way along new paths. There will be many hardships along the way. Each time we face difficulties, we promise to clear our path by harnessing the knowledge and experience we gained from Ritsumeikan University.

In closing, I wish to express my sincerest appreciation to the teachers who always guided us energetically, the senior classmates who gave us much stimulation, our friends with whom we shared our joys and sorrows, our families who warmly watched over us, and everyone else who supported our university life. On behalf of the graduating class, I end my address by wishing for the further development of Ritsumeikan University and the prosperity of everyone.

Taisei Sakano
Valedictorian
College of Science and Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering

　4年前，地元から遠く離れた立命館大学に入学し，知り合いもいない新しい環境に不安を感じながらも，これから始まるキャンパスライフに胸を躍らしていたことを思い出します。

　4年間の大学生活はあっという間に過ぎましたが，振り返ると様々な出来事がありました。

　入学当初は，私の苦手な物理と数学の知識を必要とする情報理工学部の勉強についていけるか不安な気持ちでいっぱいでした。最初は基礎的な理数系の講義に加え、専門的な講義についていくことに苦戦しました。しかし，高校とは異なる自主的な学習を促すカリキュラムや実践的な演習に学習意欲が掻き立てられ，新しく学ぶ専門分野の勉強に夢中になり没頭しました。この勉強の努力が報われ，成績優秀者として西園寺記念奨学生に選ばれたときはとてもうれしかったです。

　一方で課外活動も充実させたいと思い，秋学期に友人に誘われて，情報理工学部の留学生をサポートするFSSというサークルに入りました。このサークルをきっかけに海外に興味がわき，2回生の春学期に英語で開講される講義を受講しました。元々英語には自信があり，難なくこなせると考えていました。しかし，受講してみると周りは帰国子女や留学経験者ばかりで，自分の英語のレベルの低さに気づき愕然としました。何回もこの授業の単位を諦めようかと思いましたが，無遅刻無欠席で最後までやり遂げ，無事に単位を取ることができました。しかし，自分の英語能力の低さに対して悔しさが残り，その悔しさをばねに，次の春休みに2か月間の留学に挑戦することを決めました。留学中は，学校内外で様々な人との出会いがありました。この留学では英語能力の向上に加え，さまざまな価値観や人生観を持った友人を作ることができたことが自分の財産となっています。

　3回生の後期からモバイルコンピューティング研究室に配属されました。この研究室では，IT技術と人間の錯覚を組み合わせた研究が行われています。心理系の学問には昔から興味があり，また，大学では情報系の分野だけではなく，他の専門分野についても学びたいと考えていたため，この研究室を選びました。卒業研究では，昨今ゲームなどに使われているVRやARなどの仮想空間上に表示される身体が現実とは異なる位置に表示された場合に人間が脳内に持っている身体のイメージにどのような影響を与えるかの基礎研究を行いました。今まで勉強したことのない認知科学の学問を理解することはとても大変でしたが，先生方や先輩方の手厚いサポートのおかげで，知識を深めることができました。

　大学4年間で今まで自分が知らなかったことや不得意なことなど様々な壁にぶつかりました。壁にぶつかるたびに何回も心が折れそうになりました。しかし，そのたびに自分の不出来に悔しさを感じ，色々な解決案を考え実行していくことで，問題に立ち向かい，困難を克服しました。

　私たちは本日，立命館大学を卒業します。社会に出て活躍する人，大学院に進み専門分野をさらに極めて行く人，これから歩む人生は人それぞれです。人生を歩んでいく中で様々な壁にぶつかります。壁を乗り越えることは時につらく，時に苦しく，挑戦したことを後悔することもあると思います。しかし，挑戦しなければ何も始まりません。挑戦することによって，初めて成功や失敗することができます。成功や失敗からはたくさんのことが得られます。壁に挑戦することは必ず自分の成長につながります。 私は4月から大学院に進みます。さらなる高度な専門分野の授業や自分の研究に苦戦することがあると思います。しかし，どんな困難に対しても逃げるのではなく，挑戦していこうと思います。

　最後になりましたが，これまでご指導頂いた先生方，様々なアドバイスをしてくださった先輩方，共に学び刺激を与えてくれた友人や後輩，そして私を今まで育て，好きなことを自由に学ばせてくれて支えてくれた両親や家族に心より感謝を伝えたいと思います。立命館大学のますますの発展と皆様方のご多幸を記念いたしまして，卒業生代表のあいさつとさせていただきます。

卒業生代表
情報理工学部 情報コミュニケーション学科
小林 晶

Commencement Address for Academic Year 2019 on behalf of the Graduates of the College of Information Science and Engineering

Four years ago, I enrolled at Ritsumeikan University, far from my hometown, and I remember being excited about my life on campus that was about to begin, despite feeling uneasy about being in a new environment with no acquaintances.

The four years of life as a student went by in a flash, but as I look back, many events took place.

When I just entered university, I was worried whether I could keep up with my studies at the College of Information Science and Engineering (CISE), which required knowledge of my weakest subjects, physics and mathematics. At first, I struggled to keep up with specialized lectures in addition to basic lectures on science and mathematics. But the curriculum and practical training, which encourage our voluntary study unlike high school, motivated my desire to study more. I soon found myself immersed in studying about new specialized fields. My study efforts paid off, and I was very happy when I was selected to quality for the Saionji Memorial Scholarship.

Meanwhile, I also wanted to enrich my off-campus activities. In the fall semester I was invited by my friend to join a circle called the FSS circle, which supports international students in the CISE. This circle sparked my interest about foreign countries, which prompted me to take a lecture held in English in the spring semester of my sophomore year. Originally, I felt confident in my English and thought it would be an easy lecture for me. However, when I took the course, I found myself surrounded by returnees and students who had studied abroad, which made me realize how low my English proficiency was. I thought I would give up the credit for this class many times, but I persevered to the end, never late nor absent for class, and earned my credit. However, I was still disappointed at my lack of English proficiency and decided to turn that disappointment into determination to study abroad for two months during the spring break. While studying abroad, I met various people in and outside of school. Studying abroad helped me not only to improve my English skills, but also gain a wealth of friends with various values and views on life.

In the second semester of my junior year, I was assigned to the Mobile Computing Laboratory. This laboratory conducts research that combines IT with illusory experiences. I chose this lab because I had always been interested in psychology and I also wanted to study not only the field of information but other specialized fields. For my graduation research, I conducted basic research on how the display of our body in virtual space, such as VR or AR used in recent games, in a position that differs from reality affects how the brain perceives our body. It was very difficult to understand cognitive science, which I had never studied before, but thanks to the warm support of my teachers and my senior schoolmates, I was able to deepen my knowledge.

During my four years in university, I ran into various obstacles, such as things that I had not known before, and things that I was not good at. Every time I faced an obstacle, I was heavily disappointed with myself. But each disappointment motivated me to think and try various solutions. Eventually, I overcame those obstacles.

Today, we graduate from Ritsumeikan University. Some of us will go on to work in society, and others will go on to graduate school to pursue a specialized field. Each of us will go down our own paths. And those paths will have various obstacles. Some may be difficult to overcome or even be painful, and some may make us regret having tried. But nothing will start unless we try. Taking on challenges is the only way to succeed or fail. There is much to gain from success and failure. Trying to overcome obstacles will always make us grow. In April, I will go on to graduate school. I am sure that I will struggle with even more advanced specialized classes and my research. However, I am determined to face those difficulties instead of running away from them.

In closing, I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to my teachers who guided me, my senior schoolmates who gave me all sorts of advice, my friends and junior schoolmates who studied with me and motivated me, and to my parents and family for supporting me to this day so that I could study the things that I wanted to. On behalf of the graduating class, I would like to end my address by wishing for the further development of Ritsumeikan University and the prosperity of everyone.

Hikari Kobayashi
Valedictorian
College of Information Science and Engineering, Department of Information & Communication Science

　私がこの映像学部に入学することに至ったのは、中学生の頃に見た映像作品がきっかけでした。当時、はっきりとやりたいことが見つけられなかった私はとある映像作品を何となく見ていました。その映像作品に私は一気にひきこまれ、気づけばその映像のカットの模写をして、独学で動画を作るようにもなりました。自分の内に秘めたものを形にしていくのが楽しくて、いつしか映像について学びたいと漠然と思うようになりました。高校での説明会で映像学部のことを聞き、映像について幅広く学べるこの学部であれば私のやりたいことも明確になるのでは、とその門をたたくことを決めました。

　こうして私は4年前の春にこの立命館大学映像学部に入学しました。最初の1年は映像の基礎を学びました。撮影にプログラミングにマーケティングなどのコンテンツ産業についての授業も受けました。慣れないことも多く、目まぐるしい毎日ではありましたが、世に出ている作品の多くがこうして作られているのだと、制作の裏側を知るのが楽しかったのを覚えています。2回生に入ってからは、映像の基礎を学んだ学生はそれぞれ自分の進みたい分野へと徐々に選択をしていく時期に入りました。実写撮影、ゲーム、3DCGなどの制作に励む学生に、イベントの企画や運営に携わる学生、映画の歴史や理論を学ぶ学生などそれぞれが興味のある分野に歩みを進めました。私自身も多くの講義や実習の授業を通してゲームの制作に携わりたいと思い入ったゲームゼミで、多くのことに携わらせていただきました。ゲーム制作では、企画、プログラミング、デザインなどいろんな役割を担う学生と共に意見を交わしあい、より良い作品を作ることに熱中しました。ゼミ内での制作だけでなく、地域のイベントに出展するゲームのデザイン、学外の方も来られる展示会ジャンキャリに出展するゲーム制作にも携わりました。作品を展示し、プレイされる方の反応を見ながらただ作りたいものを作るだけでなく、それをプレイされる方がいること意識して制作していくことの重要さをしりました。映像学部は、映像に関する多くのことを広く学べる上に自分の作りたいもの、研究したいものに取り組ませてくれる自由度の高い環境でした。学外の展示に企業連携プログラム、様々な領域の講義から得られる広い学びを通して多くの学生が自身の活動が社会的に意義のあるものになり得るのだと実感したのではないのでしょうか。

　今日を以て私たちは立命館大学を卒業し、これから各々の道を歩みます。私たちが通ってきた映像学部の学舎、充光館は重い撮影機材を運ぶ姿に、自習室で毎週交わされるミーティング、遅くまでラボのパソコンに向かう姿、各々のやりたいことに懸命に取り組む学生達のその熱気で溢れていたように思えます。その思い入れの多い映像学部を旅立つことは大変名残惜しいです。けれども、これから歩む新天地でも、ここで得た学び、経験はずっと生き続けます。この先、世に出る多くのものに様々な形で携わっていき、その携わったもので、昔の私がそうであったように誰かに影響を与え、そして社会にも寄与できるようこれからも精進して参ります。

　最後になりましたが、ご指導いただいた先生方、学生生活をともにしたご友人、見守ってくださった家族に、改めて心より感謝いたします。皆様のおかげでこうして今日の日を迎えることができました。立命館大学の更なる発展をお祈りし、答辞の言葉とさせていただきます。

卒業生代表
映像学部映像学科
秋月 彩百合

My decision to enter the College of Image Arts and Sciences can be traced back to a film that I saw when I was a middle school student. At that time, I was still unsure about what I wanted to do. One day while I was watching a film for no special reason, I was immediately drawn into it and found myself copying scenes from the film. I even learned myself how to make videos and started making my own videos. It was very exciting to be able to give form to the thoughts inside me, and I began to vaguely think that I wanted to study filmmaking someday. At a high school orientation, I learnt about the College of Image Arts and Sciences whose undergraduate course provides a broad study of filmmaking. I felt that it would be the most appropriate place for me to discover what I wanted to do, and I subsequently decided to apply.

Thus, in spring four years ago, I entered the College of Image Arts and Sciences at Ritsumeikan University. My first year was spent learning the basics of filmmaking. I also took classes on the contents industry, including filming, programming, and marketing. Many of the topics were initially unfamiliar to me, and I was extremely busy. But I remember that I enjoyed learning about what happens behind the scene of filmmaking and understanding how many films are created before released to the public. In the second year, the students began choosing their area of interest after learning the basics of filmmaking in their first year. Some students focused on filming, game making, 3D computer graphics, while others pursued courses in event planning and management, or film history and theory. After attending numerous lectures and workshops, I decided to pursue game making and joined a game making seminar where I participated in many activities. When creating a new game, I immersed myself in the task of making a better game by exchanging ideas with other students who are responsible for various roles such as in planning, programming, and design. I was not only involved in making games within my university seminar but also took part in the design of a game which was displayed at a local community even, as well as making a game for the event “Eizo Junction x Career Fair” which was also attended by people outside the university. By displaying our games at events and watching the reactions of people playing them, I realized that it was important to always keep the player in mind when creating a game, instead of solely focusing on creating games that we wanted to create. The College of Image Arts and Sciences provided us with the opportunity to broadly study many areas related to filmmaking and furthermore to devote ourselves to what we want to create or research in a relatively free environment. We also participated in exhibitions outside the campus, events with programs sponsored by companies, and the lectures in different areas, all of which provided us with a wide range of learning. From these experiences, I believe that many students came to realize that their actions could be meaningful for society.

As of today, we will be graduating from Ritsumeikan University, and each one of us will be following a different path. The building of the College of Image Arts and Sciences, Jukokan Hall, was always filled with the energy of students: students carrying heavy film equipment, attending the weekly meetings in the study room, working late into the night on the laboratory computer, and always immersed in what they had set out to achieve. It is with great reluctance that I leave the College of Image Arts and Sciences for which I have such special memories. However, I will thrive on what I have learnt and experienced here in my new environment. I hope to continue taking part in the creation of works which have the potential to influence the lives of people, in the same way that occurred to me many years ago, and furthermore, I hope to work to contribute to society.

Lastly, I would like to give our deepest thanks to the professors for their guidance, to friends with whom we spent our time at university together, and to our families who were always there for us. It is due to all of your support that we are able to graduate today. I would like to end my speech by praying for the further success of Ritsumeikan University.

　厳しい冬の寒さも次第に和らぎ、暖かい風に春の気配が感じられる季節がやってきました。今年度の卒業式は、新型コロナウイルスの影響により、やむなく中止となってしまいました。4年間共に学んできた仲間たちと、卒業の喜びを分かち合い、新たな門出を祝い合うことができず、残念な思いでいっぱいではありますが、こうして卒業という節目を迎えた今、身が引き締まる思いです。

　私たちは2016年、新しく設立された総合心理学部の記念すべき1期生として、この立命館大学に入学しました。1期生故に学部に上回生が存在しなかったため、右も左もわからなかった入学当初は、周囲に頼れる先輩が居ないことに不安を覚えました。しかし、そんな中で、同期の学生たちはもちろん、先生方とも一丸となって試行錯誤してきたからこそ、今の総合心理学部があるような気がします。

　総合心理学部では、多岐にわたる分野の心理学に加え、人文科学・社会学など心理学と隣接する諸領域を学ぶことを通して、総合的な人間理解を深めることを目指し、日々邁進してまいりました。振り返ると、目の前にある課題の一つひとつに対して、苦労しながらも一生懸命に取り組み、少しずつ成長した4年間でした。

　1回生では、様々な分野の心理学を幅広く学ぶとともに、アカデミックリテラシーを身に着けるなど、4年間の学びの基礎となる部分を養いました。一括りに「心理学」と言えども、分野ごとに取り扱う内容が大きく異なる多様な心理学に触れることができ、これからの学びにとてもワクワクしたのを鮮明に覚えています。

　2・3回生では、コース選択の上、より専門的な学びへと移行し、さらなる知識を蓄積していきました。加えて、あらゆる授業でグループワークの場が設けられることが多く、ディスカッションを経て新たな知識や発見を得ることが多々ありました。とても良い刺激になったと同時に、意見を積極的に発信し合うことの大切さを改めて実感しました。

　4回生では、大学生活の集大成となる卒業論文の執筆に専心しました。一から自分で本格的な学術論文を書き上げるのは初めての経験で、自分の好きなことを研究できる楽しさの反面、実験計画の立案や実験参加者の募集、データの分析など、あらゆる場面で困難に直面しました。しかし、何度も丁寧なご指導を重ねてくださった先生、まるで自分のことのように親身になって相談に乗ってくれた友人など、たくさんの人に支えられながら、無事に執筆することができました。私にとって、卒業論文の執筆は、ひとつの形として学問を修めるということだけでなく、かけがえのない人達と出会えたことに改めて感謝する機会となりました。

　この4年間、多彩な教授陣や尊敬する仲間、最新設備などに恵まれ、たくさんの刺激を受けながら、自分の学びたいことを思う存分に学べる環境であったと改めて感じるとともに、このような環境で充実した大学生活を過ごせたことをとてもありがたく思います。

　私たちは今日、この立命館大学を卒業し、それぞれ自分が選択した道を歩き始めます。就職し社会へと羽ばたかれる方、大学院へ進学し学問のさらなる高みを目指す方など、それぞれの将来は十人十色であると思います。ただ、将来私たちが社会生活を送る上では、いかなる場面においても「人」と関わり合って生きていかなければなりません。この大学で4年間、人間について多角的に学ぶ中で得ることのできた多様な人間観は、多様化の進むこの現代社会において必要不可欠なものであることと確信しています。これからは、立命館大学での学びを胸に、様々な形で社会に大きく貢献できる人間となるよう、卒業生一同より一層精進してまいります。

　最後になりましたが、これまで熱心にご指導くださった先生方、私たちの大学生活を支えてくださった職員の皆様方、あたたかく見守り続けてくれた家族、4年間ともに励ましあった友人たちに、改めて心より御礼申し上げます。皆様方のご健勝と、立命館大学の輝かしい発展を祈念いたしまして、卒業生代表の挨拶とさせていただきます。

卒業生代表
総合心理学部 総合心理学科
佐藤 亜沙美

With the harsh, cold winter almost behind us, we can feel the first signs of spring with the warm breeze in the air. This year's commencement ceremony was unavoidably canceled due to COVID-19. It is sad not to be able to share the joy of graduating and to celebrate a new beginning with my fellow classmates with whom I studied together for four years. Nevertheless, I am determined to move forward, standing at this important moment in my life.

We entered Ritsumeikan University in 2016, as the memorable first-year students of the newly established College of Comprehensive Psychology. At the start of my college life, I did not know anything and felt worried because there were no senior students to rely on around me. However, under such circumstances, we worked hard together with our teachers through trial and error. I feel that this is how we were able to build what the College of Comprehensive Psychology is today.

At the College of Comprehensive Psychology I strived towards the aim of deepening comprehensive human understanding through not only various psychological fields but also through the many adjacent disciplines to psychology, including humanities and sociology. Looking back, my experience over the last four years while struggling but doing my best in each assignment at a time made me gradually grow.

In my first year, I studied a wide range of psychological fields and also built academic literacy, which became the foundation for my four years of learning. The subjects could be categorized broadly as “psychology,” but I was able to learn about diverse areas of psychology that differed greatly depending on the subject. I clearly remember feeling excited about what I would be learning in the coming years.

In my second and third years, I choose my courses for more specialized studies and further build up my knowledge. Every class also had many assignments with group work, and the discussions would often provide me with new information and discoveries. It was intellectually stimulating, and at the same time, I rediscovered the importance of actively sharing opinions.

In my fourth year, I devoted myself to writing my thesis, which was the culmination of my university life. It was my first time writing a full-scale academic paper on my own from scratch, and while I enjoyed studying what I liked, I also faced many challenges along the way, including the experimental plan proposal, recruitment of participants in the experiment, and data analysis. Still, I was able to write the thesis with the support of many people, including teachers who gave me thoughtful guidance on many occasions and my friends who gave me sincere advice. For me, writing the thesis was not only an opportunity to pursue my studies through writing but also an opportunity to feel grateful for meeting irreplaceable people.

I realize again that over the past four years, I have been blessed with a diverse group of faculty members and classmates who I respected, in addition to cutting-edge facilities. I feel that I have been in an environment in which I could immerse myself in studying what I wanted to study while being intellectually stimulated. I am thankful that I was able to have a fulfilling time at the university in this kind of environment.

Today, we graduate from Ritsumeikan University, and each of us will begin to follow the chosen path. I think that everyone’s future is different: Some will work and enter society, and others will go to graduate school and aim for a higher level of study. However, in order for us to be a part of society going forward, we must live while interacting with people in any kind of situation. I am convinced that the diverse view of humans I gained as a result of my four-year multifaceted studies on humans at this university will be indispensable in the modern society that becomes more diversified. From now on, all of us graduates will work hard to become people who can make great contributions to society in various forms, with our studies at Ritsumeikan University close to our hearts.

Last but not least, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to teachers who taught us with passion, staff who supported our university life, family members who watched over us, and friends with whom I shared mutual support over the past four years. I wish the best for all of you and a brilliant future for Ritsumeikan University.

Asami Sato
Valedictorian
College of Comprehensive Psychology, Department of Comprehensive Psychology

　肌を刺すような冷たい外気がいつのまにかやわらぎ、吹く風に春の訪れを感じるようになりました。

　新型肺炎の影響で修了式自体は中止になってしまいましたが、このような状況の中、私たち修了生より皆様へのご挨拶をご紹介いただき、誠にありがとうございます。

　修了生を代表いたしまして、ご挨拶申し上げます。

　あらためて過去に思いを馳せてみると、2018年4月、大学院生活に対しての楽しみや期待を胸に抱きながら、日本の歴史や文化を代表する京都の、満開の桜の下で行われた入学式の風景が、昨日のことのように思い出されます。その後、大阪いばらきキャンパスという素晴らしい環境の下で、２年間の研究生活を送ることができたことを、私たちは誇りに思います。

　私自身を振り返りますと、多くの留学生の皆さんと共に、少数派である日本人大学院生として研究生活を始めました。学部生時代から私は家族が経営する企業で経営にも関わっており、将来事業を継承することになるなら、研究に打ち込むのは今しかないという思いがあり、大学院への進学を決意いたしました。そして私は大学院の2年間で、一つのことに対して深く、真剣に向き合う時間の大切さを学ぶことができました。研究に邁進する傍らで家業にも取り組んでいた私は、学修・研究の意識が高い他の院生と共に学ぶ環境に身をおくことによって、学業へのモチベーションを維持することができました。

　私が大学院で専門的に勉強したのは、インターナル・マーケティングという考え方です。近年、中小企業は資金力不足や人材不足という問題を抱えており、その諸問題を解決する方法の1つとして、マーケティング分野の中でも、企業が従業員に対して行うマーケティング活動のことを指すインターナル・マーケティングが注目されています。企業がインターナル・マーケティングを従業員に対して行うことによって、従業員満足度が向上し、それに伴い顧客満足度と企業利益も向上することから、限られた資源の中で利益を最大化するという目的を持つ企業にとって、重要な考え方であるということができます。また、ブラック企業の存在が囁かれている世の中ですが、このインターナル・マーケティングの存在が、従業員のライフワークバランス改善への一助にもなると考えられます。

　先行研究では、インターナル・マーケティングの重要性自体は理解されているものの、より具体的な従業員満足度に影響を与えるインターナル・マーケティング活動の特定は未だに行われていないことから、私はその問題に集中的に取り組みました。小売系中小企業の従業員に対するインタビューと質問票調査の結果、「雇用条件」と「トレーニングと開発」が、従業員満足に対してプラスの影響を与えることが明らかになりました。指導教員をはじめとする経営学研究科の先生方のご指導がなければ、この結論にたどり着くことは到底できなかったと思います。

　2年間の大学院生活を通じて、研究に打ち込み、専門知識を身につけただけではなく、立命館大学が掲げている「平和と民主主義」という理念も受け取りました。この教学理念のもと、立命館大学は世界各国の学生を集めており、私たちは異なるバックグラウンドの方々と接する中で、本当の意味での異文化理解を経験し、寛容の精神を学ぶことができました。私は卒業後、家業に専念いたしますが、今後もこの理念を心に刻み、自身が研究してきた内容を踏まえ、社会に貢献することを目指していきたいと思います。

　現在、新型コロナウィルスによる感染症の影響で、立命館大学の学生、保護者の方々、教職員の方々の中にもこの困難に遭遇し、現在も懸命に対処している方々がおられると思います。今までに類を見ない状況ではありますが、世界全体で一丸となってこの困難を乗り越え、1日でも早く終息することを心から願っております。

　最後になりますが、本日を迎えるまでに、諸先生方に多くのご指導を頂けた事に、心よりお礼申し上げます。常日頃からお世話になりました研究室の皆様、何よりも熱心なご指導を賜りました吉田先生と木下先生、また大学院修了を迎えた今日まで私たちの成長を見守り続けてくれた家族に感謝の意を表したいと思っています。

　立命館大学の発展と繁栄、皆様のますますのご活躍をお祈りいたしまして、修了生代表の挨拶とさせていただきます。ご清覧ありがとうございました。

修了生代表
経営学研究科 河﨑 有希

The piercing cold air has subsided, and we can feel the arrival of spring in the wind.

Although our commencement ceremony has been canceled due to COVID-19, I would like to express my gratitude to you for providing this opportunity to introduce the speeches from the students who have graduated from the graduate school at Ritsumeikan University.

On behalf of the students who have graduated from the graduate school, I would like to give the following speech.

Looking back to April 2018, I am sure that many of us can remember as if it was yesterday the scene of the entrance ceremony held under the cherry blossoms in full bloom in Kyoto, a city representing Japan’s history and culture, and the feelings of excitement and hope we felt towards our university life as a graduate student. We are proud that we were able to spend the following two years engaging in research at the Ibaraki Campus in Osaka in a wonderful environment.

As for my personal recollections, when I began my research, I found myself in a minority as a Japanese graduate student among many international students. I decided to enter graduate school because I had been involved in the management of the business run by my family since I was an undergraduate student and I felt that if I were to take over the business in the future, now was the best time to engage myself in research. During my two years at graduate school, I was able to learn the importance of focusing my time on one issue with depth and intensity. While carrying out my own research, I also continued working in the family business. Thus, I was able to maintain my motivation to study through immersing myself in a learning environment full of students who had high motivation for research.

At graduate school, I specialized in the field of internal marketing. Recently, many small and medium-sized companies are encountering insufficient funding and labor shortage. In order to overcome these issues, one attention-getting approach in the field of marketing is internal marketing, which means marketing activities by companies for its employees. The satisfaction level of employees in a company rises through implementation of internal marketing for them, and this in turn leads to a rise in both customer satisfaction and company profit. This approach is clearly important for companies that want to maximize their profits with the limited resources available to them. Furthermore, with growing concern over the existence of exploitative companies, the presence of internal marketing can be considered to help towards improving the life-work balance of employees.

Although previous research on internal marketing identified its importance, the specific activities of internal marketing which can have an impact on the satisfaction level of employees had not yet been fully examined, and I focused my research on this area. After I carried out interviews and questionnaire surveys on employees working in small and medium-sized companies in the retail sales sector, it became clear that “employment conditions” along with “training and development” programs had a positive effect on the satisfaction level of employees. Without the guidance of my supervisor and professors in the Graduate School of Business Administration, I would not have been able to reach this conclusion.

Throughout my two years as a graduate student, I not only pursued my field of research and gained specialized knowledge but was also able to experience the principles of “peace and democracy” advocated by Ritsumeikan University. Based on these educational principles, the university has welcomed students from all over the world, and the interaction among students with various backgrounds has enabled me to experience a deeper understanding and acceptance of different cultures. After my graduation, I will be focusing on my family business, but with these principles in mind, I hope to contribute to society based on the knowledge which I have gained from my research.

I think that among the students, parents, and faculty members of Ritsumeikan University, some may be currently facing difficulties due to the effects of COVID-19 and seeking ways to handle the situation. Under an unprecedented situation, it is my sincerest hope that the world will work in cooperation to find a speedy solution.

Lastly, I would like to express our deepest gratitude to the professors for always imparting advice to us, to the people in the research seminar, to Professor Yoshida and Professor Kinoshita for their dedicated guidance, and to our families who have always been there to support us.

Before ending my speech on behalf of the students who have graduated from the graduate school of Ritsumeikan University, I pray for the continuing development and success of Ritsumeikan University and the future success of all of you. Thank you very much.

Valedictorian for Graduate School
Graduate School of Business Administration
Yuki Kawasaki

　新型コロナウイルスにより、立命館大学HPをお借りしてご挨拶させていただきます。

　修了という節目を迎える今、仲谷学長をはじめ諸先生方の多大なるご支援、ご指導を賜り、博士前期課程を無事修了することができましたこと、修了生を代表して厚く御礼申し上げます。私は２年前渡日する時、これから始まる大学院留学生活への期待とともに不安な気持ちだったことを今も覚えておりますが、過ぎる時の早さを感じます。

　私は幼い頃からボードゲームとして知られている「囲碁」のプロ棋士を目指し、大学まで囲碁の世界に囲まれ育てられました。このような私に日本留学を考えるきっかけとなったことも囲碁でした。韓国の明知大学の囲碁学科の３回生として在学していた時、先輩の論文から、日本の囲碁愛好家の人々が自宅や施設で過ごしている高齢者・障害者を対象に囲碁の相手をするボランティア活動を行っている「NPO法人日本福祉囲碁協会」を知りました。

　当時、職業として囲碁をやっていた私にとって、囲碁を通じたボランティア活動、さらにそのボランティア活動を行っている高齢者の方々はサクセスプル・エイジングにつながりうるという研究結果は非常に興味深かったです。その論文で出会った日本福祉囲碁協会が触発になり、韓国でもこのような活動を試みたいと思いました。そして、日本福祉囲碁協会のような活動が行われる日本社会やそのような実践活動について、現場から学ぶため、2018年4月立命館大学大学院社会学研究科に入学しました。

　入学した後は、高齢者のレジャー活動を研究分野として設定し、「タノシミから社会へ」という楽しみをキーワードに捉えながら、「趣味縁と高齢者の社会参加」について研究を進め、２０１９年度修士論文「趣味縁と高齢者の社会参加：日本の囲碁グループ活動を参照に」をまとめました。立命館大学大学院博士前期課程の研究生活における積み重ねが込められている修士論文が執筆されるまでの２年間、大学内外で多様な経験をしてまいりました。

　一回生の時は、立命館大学大学院社会学研究科のGLOBAL PROJECTとして毎年行われるIPAC（International Postgraduate and Academic Conference）で1年間の研究成果を報告する機会を得られました。IPACは、韓国、台湾、イギリス、オーストリアなどの大学から先生方や大学院生が参加し、研究交流を行うため、報告を通じて他国の先生方や院生からコメントをいただくことができます。また、カンファレンスが行われる合間に先生方や院生同士の交流から、研究ネットワークの構築ができ、良い経験や刺激になりました。

　二回生の時は、私を日本留学に導いた「NPO法人日本福祉囲碁協会」と囲碁を通じてまちづくり活動を行っている「川越igoまち倶楽部」の協力をいただき、フィールドワーク調査を行いました。

　フィールドワーク調査は約６ヶ月にかけて行い、研究についても様々な知見を得られることができましたが、個人的にも大変貴重な経験になったと思います。最初はフィールドに入った時は、調査先での振る舞い方やこれまでとは異なる囲碁を取り巻く考え方や環境により、戸惑いもありました。しかし、楽しみであったことが職業となり、いつの間にか楽しさより辛さを感じることが多くなった私にとって、調査協力者の方々の囲碁そのものを楽しんでいる姿は、子供の頃の私を思い浮かべさせました。このようなことを感じる過程の中、フィールドでの振る舞い方についても少しずつわかるようになり、慣れすぎて忘れていたことについても、気づくようになりました。このように未熟な私にも関わらず、信じてくださった調査協力者の皆様の温かさに、何回も助けられました。この場をお借りして感謝申し上げます。これからも結ばれた貴重なご縁、大切に守っていきたいと思っております。

　私のように、修了生各々この２年間様々な出会いや経験を積み重ねてきたと思います。４月から私たちはそれぞれが選択した道を歩き始めます。これからの道のりには、試行錯誤や困難に直面することもあるでしょう。その都度、大学院で修得した多くの知識や経験をかみ締め、常に精進を続けてまいる所存です。

　本日をもって私たちは立命館大学大学院を修了いたします。いつも心のこもったご指導を賜りました諸先生方、学生生活を支えてくださいました職員の皆様方、共に研究生活を送りながら、刺激しあい、励ましあいました友人、先輩、後輩の皆様、そしていつも私の選択を尊重し、見守ってくれた家族に、重ねて心より御礼を申し上げます。

　最後になりますが、皆様の御健康と立命館大学の輝かしい発展を祈念いたしまして、修了生体表の挨拶とさせていただきます。

修了生代表
社会学研究科
KIM Nahyun

I will make commencement day remarks through the website of Ritsumeikan University due to the university being unable to hold a graduation ceremony amid the spread of the new coronavirus.

Having reached a major milestone by completing the first half of my doctoral course, on behalf of all other students completing their courses today, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to the teaching staff, including President Nakatani, for their whole-hearted support and guidance until today. I still remember that the day when I arrived in Japan two years ago, I had mixed feelings of expectations and anxiety toward my new life as a student at an overseas graduate school.

Since my childhood, I aimed to become a professional player of Go and was raised in an environment surrounded by Go up to my college years. It was also Go that lead me to think about going to study in Japan. When I was the third year student of the Go board game department at Myongji University in South Korea, I read a research paper by a senior student. Introduced in the paper was the Japanese Welfare Go Association, a nonprofit organization which conduct volunteer activities where Japanese Go amateur players go to homes and welfare facilities to play Go with elderly people and people with disabilities staying there.

The research finding that volunteering activities using Go and elderly people engaged in such volunteering activities could lead to “successful aging” was very interesting for me, already a pro Go player at that time. Inspired by the Japanese Welfare Go Association, an organization I get to know from the research paper, I wanted to try to carry out a similar project in South Korea. Then, in order to learn from the actual settings, about the Japanese society in which volunteering activities like the ones offered by the Japanese Welfare Go Association and what such a group is doing, I entered the Graduate School of Sociology at Ritsumeikan University in April 2018.

My study theme at Ritsumeikan was leisure activities by elderly people. I studied “hobby relationship of elderly people and their social participation” under the key phrase “social participation through pleasure.” I wrote a master’s thesis for fiscal 2019, entitled “hobby relationship of elderly people and their social participation: a case study of activities by Japanese Go groups.” During the two year before I completed writing the thesis, which reflects what I learned through the research work in the first half of the doctoral course, I was able to experience much both inside and outside the campus.

When I was the first year student, I was given an opportunity to report on the result of my one-year research work at an International Postgraduate and Academic Conference (IPAC), an annual meeting being held as part of the Ritsumeikan University Graduate School of Sociology’s GLOBAL PROJECT. Since IPAC is participated by teachers and graduate school students from universities in South Korea, Taiwan, U.K., Austria and other countries for research exchange, participants are able to receive comments on their reports or presentations from these people. Interacting with teachers and graduate school students during the conference enabled me to build personal connection with some of the participants, helping me broaden my study network, which was a good experience and inspiration to me.

During the second year, I conducted a field research with the backing of the “Kawagoe igo Machi Club which conducts community building activities through Go together with the Japanese Welfare Go Association that became my motivation to study in Japan.

The field research lasted for about six months, helping me expand my knowledge on the study theme. On the personal front, the field research also became an invaluable experience for me.

At the beginning after the fieldwork started, I did not know how to behave during a meeting with the people I surveyed, and I was perplexed by different ideas and environment surrounding Go compared with those I had known in the past. But meeting those people who really enjoyed Go reminded me of my childhood days when I just liked Go because I often found myself feeling more pain than pleasure in playing Go as it had become my profession. In the course of meeting various people through the field research, I was able to behave appropriately— a little by little, I was also made aware of what is important that had slipped out of my consciousness because I had used to it too much. Despite many shortcomings, I was repeatedly by warm support from people who trusted me during the fieldwork. I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all these people. And I’d like to keep my ties with these people, which are very valuable for me.

Not only me but also other students who see this day must have encountered many people and experienced much in the past two year. From April, each of us will step in the path of his or her decision. Either path taken, we may have to undergo many trials and errors and encounter plight and hardship. Under any circumstance, we are resolved to keep moving forward, diligently, based on the knowledge and experiences we have obtained at our graduate school.

Today is our last day at Ritsumeikan University’s graduate school. Once again I would like to express our gratitude to all the people who have supported us until this day—teaching staff who warmly helped us on the academic front, administrative staff who supported our campus life, and friends and research colleagues with whom we encouraged and stimulated each other. Finally, I’d like to say thank you for my families, who always respected my decision and watched me warmly.

Now, I would like to conclude my graduation speech by offering my best wishes for good health to all of you and further prosperity of Ritsumeikan University.

Kim Nahyun
Valedictorian for Graduating School
Graduate School of Sociology

　枝の先の色づきが日々増し、春の訪れが間近に迫っております。本年度は昨今の新型コロナウイルスによる肺炎の感染状況に鑑み、立命館大学卒業式・大学院学位授与式は中止となりましたが、学長をはじめとする多くの皆様への感謝をお伝えする機会を設けていただき、卒業生・修了生一同、大変嬉しく思っております。心より厚く御礼申し上げます。

　私がこの学び舎の門をくぐったのは6年前、2014年の春のことです。ふるさとの長野県から遠く離れた京都という土地で、見知らぬ人々に囲まれて生活をすることは私にとって初めての経験でした。入学式の日は、不安よりもこれから始まる大学生活への期待が大きかったことを覚えております。あの日から6年間、今日まで多くの先生、先輩、そして友人に支えられながら、恵まれた学習環境で思い切り勉強に励むことができました。このような時間を過ごすことができたのは、ひとえに私たち一人ひとりを応援して下さった方々皆様の力があったからであります。

　私は学部生時代には日本史研究学域日本史学専攻、博士課程前期課程では日本史学専修に所属し、近代日本をフィールドとした医療社会史を専攻しました。近代に作成された史料の分析を通じて、近代日本に生きた人々が、実際に病気への対処を迫られたとき、どのように病気に対処したのか、また人々が置かれた医療環境や社会的条件、死生観はどのようなものであったのか、などを研究しました。この問題関心を通じて明らかにしようとしたのは、人々がどう「生きたい」と考えるのか、またこの意思を阻害するものとは何であるか、ということです。

　これまで重ねてきた研究を踏まえて考えさせられたのは、昨今の新型コロナウイルスによる肺炎の感染状況、またこれに伴う影響の広がりとともに明らかになっていく人々の不安であり、制度や対応のほころび、そして、不安にさらされ続けた人々が、少しずつ心をすり減らしていく姿でした。数値で示された致死率の低さは、必ずしも人々に安心を与えるわけではありませんでした。医療技術や研究による新型コロナウイルスの終息を願うとともに、いまこの時代を生きる私たちも、もう一度自らの生活や社会の形、どう「生きていく」かといった根本的な問題を見つめなおし、改善に向けていくべき岐路に立たされているといえます。

　そしてこの課題は、私が先行した歴史学だけにとどまるものではなく、今日この学び舎を巣立ち、また新しい場所でそれぞれの道を歩む卒業生・修了生も問い続けられる問題であると考えます。人々の不安やほころびの発見は、改善と次なるステップへのきっかけ、原動力につながります。それぞれが大学で学び得た多くのこと、培った知見・経験を踏み台に、それぞれの立場から社会的課題を考えていくことこそが、社会への貢献と母校への恩返しになると考えます。これからまた経験するであろう、多くの困難や挫折も成長の糧とし、これからも日々精進してまいります。

　最後になりますが、未熟な私たちにいつも適切な助言を与えて下さった諸先生方、親身になって相談に乗ってくださった先輩や後輩の皆様、今日の日を迎えるために共に切磋琢磨してきた同級生の皆様、そして今日まで私たちの成長を見守り支え続けてくれた家族に、あらためて御礼申し上げます。そして、立命館大学のさらなるご発展と、皆様のますますのご健勝を、心より祈念いたしまして、修了生代表の挨拶とさせていただきます。

修了生代表
文学研究科 人文学専攻 日本史学専修
小林 愛恵

Spring is just around the corner with the growing number of budding leaves on branches. In light of the contagion of pneumonia caused by COVID-19, the commencement ceremony of the undergraduate school and graduate school of Ritsumeikan University has been canceled this year, but the graduate students of the undergraduate school and graduate school are thankful to the College President and all of you for providing us with an opportunity to express our gratitude.

I first entered the gate of this university six years ago in the spring of 2014. Moving to Kyoto, which was far away from my hometown of Nagano Prefecture, and starting a new life with people I didn’t know, was a new experience for me. I remember that on the day of the university entrance ceremony, the excitement I felt with the start of my university life was more than any feelings of anxiety. Six years on, I find that I was able to study to my heart’s content in a wonderful academic environment, supported by my numerous professors, fellow students and friends. I believe that I was able to spend time like this due entirely to the efforts of all of you in supporting each one of us.

As an undergraduate student in Japanese History Program, I majored in Japanese History and as a M.A. graduate student, I belonged to the field of Japanese History and specialized in the Social History of Medicine in the area of modern Japan. Analyzing the historical materials produced in modern Japan, I researched how Japanese people in modern Japan confronted and treated their illnesses, as well as their medical environment, social conditions and view of life and death. The aim of my research was to identify how people in that period wanted to live their lives and what were the factors which prevented them from doing so.

Based on the culmination of my research, my personal reflection on the recent contagion of pneumonia caused by COVID-19 is that its expanding impact has led to anxiety among people, fractures in the system and responses, and the gradual emotional exhaustion of people under continuous strain. The low fatality rate has not necessarily provided people with a sense of security. While I trust that medical technology and research will lead to the suppression of COVID-19, I think that we, today, are at a crossroad where we need to reexamine our individual lives and the society in which we live in, in order to reconsider the fundamental issue of how we live and to search for ways to make further improvements.

I believe that this task is not limited to the area of history, which I specialize in, but it is a question which continues to be relevant to all of you who will be graduating from this university today and leading your lives in a new place. People’s fears and the discoveries of fractures provide an opportunity and motivation for improvement and the next step forward. I also believe that if each one of us uses the abundant knowledge and experience which we gained at university as a stepping stone towards thinking about social issues from an individual standpoint, we will be contributing to society and giving back to our university. I hope to continue making efforts to improve myself while dealing with many difficulties and setbacks which I will experience in life as a source of personal growth.

I would like to end my speech by conveying our thanks to the professors who have always imparted appropriate advice to us, to our fellow students who have kindly helped us, and to our classmates who have worked hard together to reach this day, and to our parents who have always been there to support us. Lastly, I would like to pray for your good health and the further success of Ritsumeikan University.

Manae Kobayashi
Valedictorian for Graduate School
Graduate School of Letters, The Major in Humanities, Field of Japanese History

　2年前の本日、本学の卒業生代表として2017年度卒業式にてご挨拶を述べさせていただいたことを鮮明に覚えています。学部生の4年間でロボット技術研究会のロボット製作や物理駆け込み寺の相談対応、卒業研究など様々な経験を通して、幅広い知識やスキル、専門技術を身に付けることができました。しかし本日、修了生代表として大学院生生活を振り返ると、学部生のときとは一味違う経験をすることができ、2年前からさらに成長できたと実感しております。

　大学3回生の冬から、マイクロパワーシステム研究室に所属し、道関隆国先生、田中亜実先生のご指導のもと、ウエアラブル機器への無線給電を行うシステムに関する研究をしました。私の研究テーマは先輩の研究の延長ではなく、研究の立ち上げから携わったものでした。提案するシステムのコンセプトが実現可能なのかはもちろん不明であり、使用する実験用の電子回路基板の調整も一からでした。そのため結果がなかなか出ず、同じ研究室の同期や後輩が先に学会発表に行く中、自分だけが発表を見送っていました。多くの不安や焦りを感じる中、どうすれば研究が前進するか、発生した事象を常に客観視し多角的にとらえて、僅かでも動作する可能性があるならば1つずつその課題に取り組みました。課題に取り組むにあたって必要なのであれば独学で知識を蓄え、先生や同期と相談しながら課題解決を進めました。それぞれの知識はわずかな量ですが、１つ１つ積み重ねることで大きな力に変えることができ、課題をクリアすることができました。その結果、提案するシステムの動作に成功し、研究成果を2020年1月の国際学会にて発表することができました。研究は思うように進まないもので、1つの課題をクリアしても、これに起因した別の課題や、時には思いもよらない新しい課題が生まれる繰り返しです。その際に、課題の原因や解決策を粘り強く考えること、考え付いた解決策を世の中で役立つものにするために、解決策を実現できる豊富な知識、経験、高い技術力を備えることが研究には大切であることに気づくことができました。

　4月からは民間企業に就職し、6年間で身に付けた知識、経験、技術をさらに高めて「未来のあたりまえ」を支える技術を作れるような一人前のエンジニアに成長したいと考えております。

　私たちは本日、立命館大学大学院を修了し、4月からはそれぞれ新しい道を歩み始めます。企業に就職する方、博士後期課程に進学する方など様々な道がありますが、それぞれの道の先にも困難に直面する時があると思います。そのようなときに、立命館大学で身に付けた知識や経験を活かして自ら道を切り開いていけるよう、卒業生・修了生一同、これからも精進してまいります。

　最後になりましたが、熱心に私たちを指導してくださった先生、先輩、互いに支えあい苦楽を共にした友人たち、いつも温かく見守ってくれた両親、その他大学生活を支えてくださった皆様方に心より感謝申し上げます。そして立命館大学の益々の発展と皆様方のご多幸を祈念いたしまして、修了生代表の挨拶とさせていただきます。

修了生代表
理工学研究科 電子システム専攻
樫山 法史

With the coldness of winter finally letting up, we have begun to see a sign of the arrival of spring. Thank you very much for holding a magnificent graduation ceremony on this wonderful day. On behalf of all the undergraduate and graduate school students completing their studies at the university today, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to honorable guests, teaching staff including President Nakatani and administrative staff for coming to the event despite their tight schedule.

I vividly remember that exactly two years ago, I was honored to make a graduation speech at the fiscal 2017 commencement ceremony on behalf of the graduating class of the year. My four years as an undergraduate student were devoted to manufacturing robots at the university’s Robot Researchers' Society for Training (RRST), responding to requests for consultation related to physics at the Butsuri-Kakekomidera and engaging in graduation research work. Through these experiences, I was able to acquire a wide range of knowledge and skills as well as specialized expertise. But today, as the representative of graduate school students completing their courses, reflecting back on my past years as a graduate school student, I was able to have experiences different from those as an undergraduate student, and I feel that I have grown further from two years ago.

During the winter of my third year, I joined the Micro Power Systems Laboratory, and under the guidance of professor Takakuni Douseki and lecturer Ami Tanaka, I took part in a project to study a wireless power supply system for wearable devices. I worked on the project not as the extension of what senior students had already done. Instead, I was involved in the project when it was inaugurated. Whether or not the proposed system concept could be feasible was unknown at the beginning. Moreover, I had to adjust the electronic circuit board to be used for an experiment—from scratch. Under these circumstances, I could not produce desirable results on my project, which forced me to give up presentation at an academic meeting while seeing all other members of the lab, including those who entered the lab in the same year and later, going to make presentations at academic meetings. While I felt anxiety and frustration, I tried to figure out how I should go about advancing my research. I kept an objective eye on what was unfolding from multiple viewpoints, and if I found any possibility of the proposed system working even a little, I worked on all problems that emerged one by one. When necessary, I tried to acquire new knowledge on my own and consulted with my teachers and colleagues to solve the problems. The amount of knowledge acquired each time was insignificant, but making such a steady effort one step at a time finally became a big power, which enabled me to resolve the problems. As a result, I succeeded in making the proposed system work, and in January 2020, I was able to make a presentation on this result to at an academic meeting. Getting scientific studies advancing is difficult. Even if one problem is solved, one after another problems, some deriving from the initial problem and others from new sources, will likely stand in the way of the project. In the face of such situation, we should tenaciously work on finding possible reasons behind the problem and its solution. To put solutions researchers come up with to practical use in society, it is important for them to have abundant knowledge as well as experience and technological power required to achieve those solutions. This is what I realized through my studies at Ritsumeikan.

In April, I will take a job at a private business. My goal at the company is becoming a professional engineer who is capable of developing technologies that would support what we are to see everywhere in the future—by expanding my knowledge, experience and technology accumulated in the past six years.

We will complete courses at Ritsumeikan University’s graduate school today. Each of us will step into a new path in April. Some will work at private businesses while others will study for the second half of doctoral courses. Each of us may sometimes face hardship going forward. Whenever such situation arises, all of us, graduates, are determined to do all we can to break through the impasse, leveraging the knowledge and experiences accumulated at Ritsumeikan University.

At the conclusion of my speech, I would like to express our sincere thanks to teachers and senior students who gave academic support to us enthusiastically, friends who shared their lot with us, families who always watched and supported us warmly, and all other people who supported our college life. Finally, on behalf of graduate school students completing their courses today, I would like to offer my best wishes for further prosperity of Ritsumeikan University and happiness for all of you attending here today.

Norifumi Kashiyama
Valedictorian for Graduate School
Advanced Electrical, Electronic and Computer Systems
Graduate School of Science and Engineering

　私は国際関係学部・研究科を通じて、この京都衣笠の地で学問に全力を注いできました。入学前は理系分野にも関心があったため、「国際関係学とはどういう学問なのか？他の学部・研究科との違いや、独自の強みとは何なのか？」という問いとは常に向き合ってきたつもりです。幸いなことに様々な分野の専門知識を広く学ぶことが出来る環境であったため、この問いの答えを求めて自らの知的好奇心の赴くままに、「真理の森」を彷徨うことが出来ました。学びを深めていくうちに国際関係学を構成するあらゆる学問領域で必ず取り上げられる「グローバル化」という現象そのものに着目すると、グローバル化の根源には「科学技術の進展」が存在し、科学技術の影響を正視する必要があるという考えに至り、一貫してこのテーマを研究してきました。

　特に集大成として修士論文では、「ゲノム編集」という先端科学技術を事例に、社会学の理論を用いてリスク分析を行いましたが、そのためには一層学際的で多角的な知識と助言が必要になりました。この研究を論文として一つの形に出来たのは、様々な先生方にその知見をご教示頂き、多くのことについて学び、今までになかった発想を得て、研究の幅を広げられたからです。そして研究報告や論文執筆の際には、主査と副査の先生方が親身になってご指導してくださいました。このような「真理の森の道標」があったからこそ、私は修士論文を書き上げることが出来たと思っています。

　また私が学生生活を過ごした6年間では、国際社会において様々な出来事がありました。イスラム国の台頭やテロの増加、イギリスのEU離脱やトランプ政権の誕生に象徴されるポピュリズムの活性化、米中の貿易摩擦や気候変動を巡る国際社会の足並みの乱れ、直近ではコロナウイルスの世界的流行など枚挙に暇がありません。日本国内においても同様に、安保法案を巡る世論の対立、全国各地で豪雨や地震といった自然災害と多大な被害の発生、昨年は平成から令和への改元があり、今年は東京オリンピック・パラリンピックが控えています。このような激しい変化を通じて新しい時代を迎えている時期に、国籍・価値観・育ってきた環境の異なる友人達と交流を深め、自分の考えや意見を語り合い、自分の視野をグローバルに広げることが出来た経験は、何物にも代えられない私の「財産」となりました。この財産を得られる機会に溢れているという点と、様々な分野の専門知識を広く学ぶことが出来るという点が、他にはない国際関係の強みだと今では考えています。

　本日を以て私達はこの学び舎を巣立ち、今後はそれぞれの道を進むことになります。社会の一員としての新しい環境は楽しいことばかりではなく、困難に直面することが必ずあるかと思います。しかし今までの学びと経験を糧として、困難を打開していかなければなりません。私は多角的な視点から物事を柔軟に観察して、諦めることなく自らの信じる道を邁進していきたいと思っています。

　最後になりましたが、これまで未熟な私達に助言を与え導いてくださった先生方、海外の大学にも引けを取らない学びの環境を提供し支えて下さった職員の方々には、感謝してもし尽くせません。この場をお借りして心より御礼申し上げます。そしていつも私達の成長を温かく見守り支えてくれた家族、共に学び切磋琢磨してきた友人達には、心から感謝申し上げます。

　皆様のご健勝を祈念いたしまして、修了生代表の挨拶とさせていただきます。

修了生代表
国際関係研究科 国際関係学専攻
福田 和志

2019 Valedictorian Speech for Graduate School (Graduate School of International Relations)

Throughout my years as an undergraduate and graduate student in International Relations, I have exerted myself to the utmost in my studies at the Kinugasa Campus in Kyoto. Since I had an interest in the field of science before entering university, I found myself always confronting the question of, “What does the study of International Relations entail? How is it different from other undergraduate majors or graduate school studies? What are its strengths?” Furthermore, as I was fortunate enough to be in an environment which allowed me to broadly study specialized knowledge in a variety of fields, I was able to seek the answers to my question, following wherever my intellectual curiosity took me, as I wandered through the “Forest of Truth.” As I deepened my knowledge, I focused my attention on the phenomena of “globalization” itself, which is addressed by all the academic fields constituting International Relations, and I came to the conclusion that the “development of scientific technology” is at the root of globalization. Thinking that there is a need to examine the effects of scientific technology and consequently, I have continued my research in this area.

With the culmination of my research, I wrote my master’s thesis on “Genome Engineering” as a case study in advanced science and technology, and I applied sociology theory to make a risk analysis which required a multi-disciplinary and multi-faceted approach of knowledge and advice. I was able to complete my thesis thanks to the guidance of various professors from whom I learnt so much and who helped me develop new ideas, while further broadening my field of research. The professors who were my examiners were always there to give me advice when I reported my research and wrote my thesis. I believe that the completion of my thesis is due to the fact that I had encountered these “Guide Posts in the Forest of Truth.”

During the six years of my student life, many events took place in the world, such as the emergence of the Islamic State, the rise of terrorism, the revitalization of populism as seen in the UK’s exit from EU and the inauguration of the Trump presidency, the discord within the international community as evident in the trade friction between the United States and China as well as in climate change, and most recently, the worldwide spread of COVID-19. Within Japan, we have seen a divergence in public opinion regarding the National Security Bill, tremendous damages caused by natural disasters such as heavy rainfalls and earthquakes occurring throughout Japan, the change of the era name from Heisei to Reiwa which occurred last year, and the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics which will be held this year. While we face a new age through all these turbulent changes, the opportunity for me to develop deep interactions with my friends with different nationalities, values and environment in which they have grown up, and to exchange thoughts and opinions with them, enabling me to broaden my perspective globally, has been an irreplaceable experience and above all my “treasure.” I now believe that the unique strengths of studying at International Relations lie in the abundant opportunities for finding these “treasures” and the ability to broadly study specialized knowledge in a variety of areas.

Today we will be leaving this university and moving on to our different paths. As a member of society, our new environment will not always be enjoyable, and we will one time or another have to face moments of difficulties. However, through utilizing the learning and experience we have gained so far, we must overcome our challenges. I hope to continue taking the path which I believe in, observing situations with flexibility from a multifaceted perspective, and with perseverance.

Lastly, I would like to express my gratitude to the professors who have given us advice and guided us and to the administrative staff who have provided us with a learning environment equal to that found in universities abroad. I would also like to thank our families who have always warmly watched over us and to fellow students who have all studied so hard together.

I would like to end my speech as valedictorian for the graduate school by praying for your good health.

Kazushi Fukuda
Valedictorian for Graduate School
Graduate School of International Relations, Major in International Relations

修了生代表答辞

　本日をもちまして，私たち修了生は，本大学院の全課程を修了いたします。修了するにあたりスポーツ健康科学部の4年間とスポーツ健康科学研究科での2年間を振り返りますと，陸上競技の110ｍハードル競技にばかり注力してきた６年間であったと感じます。陸上競技をはじめた小学校時代から現在までは，数多くの成功と失敗を経験してきました。その中には，世間から注目されたことも幾度かありました。誰もが経験できない競技生活を送ってきた私ですが，年齢を重ね，自己記録を更新するほど，自分がどこに向かえば良いのか考える時間が多くなりました。そんな中，私自身の最終的な人生の目標である高校教員になるために，知識と科学的な指導力を身につけたいと考えるようになり、大学院進学を決めました。また残す２年間で，陸上競技の世界でもう一度活躍したいという気持ちもありました。

　大学院進学後の１年間は、これまでにない多忙な生活を送っていました。専修免許状を取得するために数多くの講義を受講し，昼休みとその前後の時間を利用してトレーニングを行い，また講義に戻る。さらに研究を進めるためにディスカッションを重ねる。そんな日々が続きました。今から思い起こしますとよく乗り越えたと感極まるところがあります。間違いなくこれまでの人生で最も充実していた時間でありました。また自身の研究分野以外の講義も積極的に受講し，新たな知見を学ぶ楽しさを感じることができたことも大きな財産であったと感じています。そんな忙しくも充実した生活を送っていたせいか，大学院1年時で110mハードル競技の自己ベストを大きく更新することができ，それまで私が持っていた関西学生記録をさらに更新することができました。今まで以上に時間がない中で，出来ること出来ないことを明確化し，合理的かつ効率的にトレーニングに取り組んできた結果が報われた瞬間でありました。

　大学院2年時には，競技，研究に加え教員採用試験に向けた準備と，さらに多忙な日々が続きました。研究活動や試験対策などでどうしてもトレーニングの時間を確保できないこともありましたが，今この時を精一杯頑張ることが自身の未来につながると信じ，目の前にあることに全身全霊をかけ取り組んできました。その結果，学生最後のインカレで初の3位入賞を果たし，また滋賀県教員採用試験にも無事合格することができました。陸上競技の結果については十分に満足していませんが，規模の大きなレースで久しぶりに表彰台に登ることができたことは、これから高校教員として勤めるうえでの大きな財産になり得るものであると感じています。

　研究においては、「ICTを用いたハードリング技術の指導法の考案」というテーマで高校生選手を対象に進めてきました。近年、学校現場でICTの利用が広がってきていますが、スポーツ現場では，機器の進歩に指導方法が追い付いておらず、撮影された映像を指導者の経験と勘で評価するという現状です。そこに着目し、選手が自身の映像を確認するための「Self-Assessment Sheet on Hurdling：SASH」を作成し、トレーニング実践を行ったところ、多くの選手にハードリング技術の向上が示されました。今後、滋賀県の陸上界をはじめ全国の高等学校の現場で、私の作成した「SASH」の利用を普及させたいと考えています。私は修士課程おける講義や研究活動を通して，体育学やコーチング学などの専門的な知識を身につけることができました。それらが幸いし教員採用試験合格を果たすことができたことは，修士課程における２年間で文武両道を果たすことができた証明となりました。

　私たちは今，人生の大きな岐路に立っています。これからの将来に夢と希望を抱く者，不安とプレッシャーに押し潰されそうになる者，右も左も判らず，ひたすら前へ進む者，様々だと思います。私自身も，幼い頃からの目標であった高校教員採用試験に合格したものの，自分に仕事が務まるのか，思い描く教師像に近づけるのか不安で一杯です。これらのことはいくら考えても答えは出ません。しかし一つだけ間違いなく言い切れることは，「今この時に全身全霊をかければ，道は拓ける」ということです。今を全力で取り組んだ者に明日，その先の未来がやってきます。これは私の学部での４年間と大学院での２年間の経験から得た，答えです。これから先たくさんの苦難に苛まれることになるかもしれませんが，本学での６年間を胸に，今この時に全身全霊をかけ，一歩ずつ確実に前へ進んでいきたいと思います。多くの人は「努力は報われる」と言います。しかし，これまでの競技経験から，私は「努力をしても必ずしも報われるわけではない」と感じます。重要なのは，弛まない努力の結果失敗したとしても，努力した自分を褒め，常に前に進む姿勢を崩さないでいることだと感じます。そのためには1日1日に全身全霊をかける必要があります。そうして生活していくうちに物事は良い方向に向かっていくと，私は信じています。私は、これからの教員人生、立命館大学で学んだ「Rの力」を最高の誇りとして生徒と共に学び続けたいと考えています。

　最後に，立命館大学大学院の更なる発展を，心より祈念致しまして，修了生代表の挨拶とさせて頂きます。

修了生代表
スポーツ健康科学研究科
鍵本 真啓

Graduate representative’s address in reply

Today, we, the graduates, will be completing all courses at this graduate school. Looking back on the past four years at the College of Sport and Health Science and the two years at the Graduate School of Sport and Health Science, I recall focusing only on athletics, especially 110m hurdles competitions, throughout the past six years. Ever since my elementary school days, when I began participating in athletic sports, until now, I have faced many successes and failures. During my experiences, I got attention from the general public several times. I have lived a life of athletic competitions that everyone cannot experience. However, as I grew older and broke my personal best, I started to spend more time thinking about where I should go. Meanwhile, I came to think that I wanted to develop my knowledge and scientific leadership to become a high school teacher, which is my ultimate goal in life, and decided to go to graduate school. In the remaining two years, I also wanted to be actively involved in the athletics world once again.

For one year after enrolling in graduate school, I had a busy life like never before. I attended plenty of lectures to obtain a teaching certificate, did training during and around lunch breaks, and returned to the lectures. And I repeated discussions to do further research. That was my everyday life. Recalling those days, I don’t know how I managed to take it in stride, but I’m proud of myself. It was definitely the most fulfilling time of my life. It was also a precious experience to be able to enjoy learning new insights by actively joining lectures outside of my research field. Maybe because I was living such a busy, yet fulfilling life, I was able to significantly improve my personal best in the 110m hurdle competition during the first year of graduate school and even broke the Kansai student record I had held until then. It was a moment when my efforts were rewarded. Even when I had less and less time for myself, I worked on training rationally and efficiently while trying to draw the line between what I can do and what I cannot.

In my second year of graduate school, I was busier with competitions, research, and preparation for the teaching staff examination. Sometimes I couldn’t find time for training due to research activities and exam preparation, but believing that doing my best during this time would lead to my future career, I worked wholeheartedly on things that are in front of me. As a result, I won my first 3rd place at my last intercollegiate competition and successfully passed the Shiga Prefecture’s teaching staff examination. Although I’m not completely satisfied with the results of the athletics competitions, going up on the podium in a large-scale race after a long interval could be a great asset for working as a high school teacher going forward.

Also, I was working on research involving high school students with the theme of “developing a method of teaching hurdling techniques using ICT.” In recent years, the use of ICT has become widespread at schools, but in sports competitions, teaching methods have not yet caught up with the progress of equipment. Therefore, the current practice still relies on the evaluation by the instructor of the videos taken based on his or her experience and intuition. Focusing on that, I created “Self-Assessment Sheet on Hurdling: SASH,” which enables athletes to view videos of their practices, and used it for training. That helped many athletes improve their hurdling techniques. Going forward, I would like to spread the use of my “SASH” in the athletic world in Shiga Prefecture and nationwide high schools. I was able to acquire expertise, such as physical education and coaching, through lectures and research activities in the master’s program. Fortunately, that helped me pass the teaching staff examination, which proved that I was able to wield both pen and sword in the two years of the master’s program.

We are now at a critical crossroad in life. We are all different: Some have dreams and hopes in the future, some are anxious and put under significant pressure, and some just look and step ahead without even knowing their way around. I passed the teaching staff examination, which I had been aiming for since I was a child, but I’m full of anxiety because I’m not sure if I can fulfill my duties or if I can get closer to the ideal teacher figure that I have in mind. However hard we think, we can’t find the right answer. But there is one thing I can definitely say: “We can open up our way if we work hard every moment with our bodies and souls.” If we work to the fullest now, tomorrow and the future will be ours. This is the answer I arrived at after four years of undergraduate life and two years of graduate school life. I may face many hardships in the future, but with the experience of six years at this university, I would like to put all of my heart and soul into seizing the day and make sure to move forward step by step. Many people say, “Your efforts will pay off.” However, from my experience in athletic competitions, I don’t think our efforts always pay off. The bottom line is, even if we fail despite unrelenting efforts, we should be proud of ourselves for our efforts and always maintain an attitude of moving forward. To keep moving forward, “carpe diem.” If we enjoy our everyday life, I believe that things will become better. In my life as a teacher, I will have the greatest pride in the “power of R,” which I learned at Ritsumeikan University, and will continue learning with my students.

Finally, I would like to sincerely wish for further development of Ritsumeikan University graduate school and end this address as the graduate representative.

Valedictorian for Graduate School
Graduate School of Sport and Health Science
Masahiro Kagimoto

　一雨ごとに暖かさは増し、春の息吹に心華やぐ季節となりました。こうして修了の日を迎えることができ、ご指導賜りました先生方をはじめ、学生生活を支えていただいた職員の皆様、家族、友人に心より御礼申し上げます。修了生を代表いたしまして、ご挨拶申し上げます。

　2018年4月、私は研究者としてもつべき高度な知識、経験を培うため、立命館大学大学院生命科学研究科へ進学しました。思い返せば、この2年間という短い時間でも生命科学は大きな進歩を遂げ、医療、食料、エネルギーといった様々な分野において私たちの生活を変えようとしています。とりわけ印象に残っているのは、免疫を抑制するタンパク質を発見し、がん治療に新たな可能性を切り開いた本庶佑先生がノーベル生理学・医学賞を受賞するという快挙を成し遂げられたことです。基礎研究の重要性が広く取り上げられたことが鮮明な印象として残っています。

　私もまた、生命科学部4回生のときから在籍している食料バイオテクノロジー研究室で、植物が持つ免疫機構の解明を目指し、研究活動に邁進してきました。私が修士課程に在籍したこの2年間だけでも、世界人口はおよそ1.5億人増加しました。この急速な人口増加に見合った食糧生産は喫緊の課題です。しかし、作物に感染する病原体が原因で、毎年多くの食糧が失われています。食糧生産の一助となるべく、植物が病原体から身を守る仕組みについて研究を行いました。研究を始めた当初は、一本の論文を読むのにも苦労しました。しかし、多くの論文に触れるにつれて、論文を読むことは新たな知識を得る喜びへと変わっていきました。また、生物を相手とする実験は中々思うようにいかず、試行錯誤の連続でしたが、失敗に屈せず、粘り強く取り組んだ末に、新たな結果を得たときの喜びは格別でした。同時に、まだ誰も足を踏み入れたことのない知の世界の扉を開くときの高揚感こそが、研究の醍醐味であると感じました。

　研究活動は国内に留まらず、海外の研究所で学ぶ機会もいただきました。論文で名前を目にする研究者の方々を前にしたときの、あの興奮と緊張は今でも忘れられません。学内での研究とは異なった多岐にわたる先進的な研究に触れることで、一つの事象をより多角的な視点から深く見つめることができるようになれたと思います。また、多国籍の学生と共に過ごした時間は、喜びや驚きに満ち溢れていました。この非日常を味わえた経験は、私の価値観に大きな影響を与え、これからの人生を豊かにしてくれると確信しています。

　私が立命館大学で身につけたことは、答えを創造する力です。それは、教科書に書かれている答えを探し出す力ではなく、自ら学び、考え、行動することで新しい答えを生み出す力です。本日をもって長きにわたる学生生活が閉幕します。そして、私たち修了生一同は、4月から新たな道へ進み出します。私自身は、「食を通じて人々の暮らしを支えたい」という目標を持ち、食品メーカーで技術職として新たな道を歩み出します。きっと難題にぶつかることもあるでしょうが、立命館大学を修了した自覚と誇りを胸に、たゆまぬ努力を重ね、答えを創造していきたいと思います。

　最後になりましたが、こうして無事に学生生活を終えることができるのは、未熟な私たちをご指導くださいました先生方、学生生活を支えていただいた職員の皆様、共に支え合った友人たち、そして私自身が決めた道を歩ませたくれた家族のおかげです。支えてくださった皆様に心より御礼申し上げます。私たち修了生一同の今後の活躍をお約束すると共に、立命館大学の益々のご発展を祈念いたしまして、結びの言葉に変えさせていただきます。

修了生代表
生命科学研究科
下川 心平

Each time it rained, it got warmer. This arriving spring makes us feel lively. Being able to see this day of graduation come, I would like to express our sincerest gratitude to all the people who have supported us until today—teaching staff who have become our mentors, administrative staff who were a great force for our campus life, friends and families. On behalf of all the people graduating today, I am honored to make a few remarks today.

In April 2018, I entered Ritsumeikan University’s Graduate School of Life Sciences with an aim of building up highly advanced scientific knowledge and experiences which are required of a researcher. Looking back, even during this short period of two years, life science has advanced significantly and is changing our lives in various fields, including medicine, food and energy. Particularly impressive for me was the winning of the 2018 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine by Professor Tasuku Honjo for the discovery of protein that acts as the immune system’s built-in brakes. His groundbreaking work has paved the way for establishing a new way of treating cancer. I vividly recalled Professor Honjo’s Nobel Prize winning as highlighting the importance of basic research.

I have worked hard on shedding light on the immune systems incorporated into plants at the food biotechnology lab at the College of Life Sciences, which I joined when I was a fourth-year undergraduate student at Ritsumeikan University. Even during my two-year master course at the graduate school, the global population increased by about 150 million. It is imperative to find a way to produce food in response to the rapidly growing population. However, much crops have been killed every year due to infections with bacteria and germs. To be of some help to expand food production, I studied plants’ built-in mechanism to defend themselves from disease-causing pathogens. At the beginning, even reading a single research paper was a difficult task for me. However, while reading many papers, I realized the joy of acquiring new knowledge through the literature. Experiments at the research lab which involved living things were harder than I had expected, and I repeated trials and errors. When my tenacious efforts despite repeated failures produced unexpected results, I felt an exceptional joy, which can be compared to a sense of excitement one would have when tapping the unexplored world of knowledge. This is nothing but the true pleasure of scientific study.

My research work at the Graduate School of Life Sciences was not limited to activities in Japan. I was given opportunities to study at overseas labs. I couldn’t forget the excitement and tension when I met prominent scientists and researchers whose names I saw in key theses and papers. I believe that I have developed an insight to see a scientific phenomenon deeply from multiple viewpoints through my experience of advanced and diversified studies that are different from what would be experienced at Ritsumeikan alone. In addition, my campus life was filled with pleasure and surprise because I was able to spend days with students from all over the world. I am convinced that my rare experiences at the graduate school will have a significant impact on my value and enrich my life in the future.

What I have acquired at Ritsumeikan University is a power to create answers. It’s not a power to find answers already written in textbooks but a power to create answers through learning, thinking and acting on my own. My long college life will be concluded today. In April, all of us, graduating today, will step into a new path. My new path will begin at a food maker at which I will work as an engineer with the goal of supporting people’s lives through food. I am likely to encounter hardships after stepping into the new path, but I am resolved to make strenuous efforts and create answers based on my pride and self-awareness that I graduated from Ritsumeikan University.

At the conclusion of my speech, I would like to express our thanks once more to all the people who have guided us to what we are now at this commencement ceremony today. They are teaching staff who have undertaken the task of teaching us, who were immature, administrative staff who have supported our college life, my friends who have supported each other and my families, who respected my course of life until today. On the day of graduation, we are determined to do all we can to play a key role in society while offering a prayer for the continuing growth and prosperity of Ritsumeikan University. Thank you very much.

Shinpei Shimokawa
Valedictorian for Graduating School
Graduate School of Life Sciences

答辞
立命館大学　人間科学研究科　対人援助学領域
増尾佳苗

　令和二年立命館大学大学院学位授与にあたり、博士課程前期課程修了生の一人として心よりお礼とご挨拶を申し上げます。

　私は、災害救援者として現場で経験を積み、経験から得た学びをどのようにかたちにして伝えるかという機会について模索しておりました。そのようなときに立命館大学　大学院の『臨地の対人援助学』に出会いました。一冊の本から、大学院で学びたいという思いが芽生え、不安ながら大学院に入学した二年前を昨日のことのように覚えております。大学院では、多くの出会いに恵まれました。学外実習である「東日本震災復興プロジェクト」に参加し、災害救援者という立場ではなく、大学院生として自分の活動した地に戻り、被災地の現状や、その地に生きる人々の思いを聴き、視点を変えることで見えていなかったことに気づく機会を得ました。そして、対人援助学領域のゼミ（クラスターと呼ぶ）では、本を執筆された教授陣に直接学びを得るという幸せな時間を過ごし、医療や看護の世界しか知らずに探求していた自分の偏りを知り、改めて『臨地の対人援助学』に書かれている言葉やメッセージの意味は、災害救援の現場においても同じだったことに気づかされました。授業では、今までの自分の価値や姿勢を問い直す機会にたびたび出くわし、刺激を受けました。日々の学びを重ね、論文に取り組む際、自分の経験と、学びから得たメッセージやキーワードが一致し、改めて驚くという今までにない高揚感を感じ、論ずることの素晴らしさを知りました。そして、クラスターや授業で出会う多才で多様な仲間の助言は、私にとって宝となりました。大学院での数々の出会いと学びが、私の経験から得た学びと融合し、論文というかたちで伝えることができたことは、大変嬉しく思いました。そしてこの機会に恵まれたことに心より感謝申し上げます。

　最後に、これまでご指導くださいました諸先生方、職員のみなさま、家族、友人、 今日まで私たちを支えてくださったすべての方々に、まことに僭越ではありますが修了生を代表して心より御礼申し上げます。立命館大学　大学院　人間科学研究科のさらなる発展と、皆様方のさらなるご活躍を心よりお祈り申し上げ、答辞とさせていただきます。

Valedictory
Ritsumeikan University, Graduate School of Science for Human Services, , Kanae Masuo

schience for human services
As a graduate of the first semester of the doctoral program, I would like to express my sincere appreciation for conferment of the 2020 Ritsumeikan University graduate degree.

While accumulating on-site experiences as a disaster relief helper, I was exploring opportunities for articulating what I learned from those experiences. It was at this time that I came upon the book titled Study of On-site Interpersonal Support published by the Ritsumeikan University Graduate School. This one book sparked my desire to study in graduate school, and I enrolled in the graduate school with some anxiety two years ago, which I remember as if it was yesterday. I enjoyed many encounters in graduate school. I joined the Great East Japan Earthquake Reconstruction Project, an off-campus training program, and returned to the site, where I once worked at as a disaster relief supporter, as a graduate student this time. I heard about the current state of the disaster-struck area and the feelings of people who lived there. This opportunity opened my eyes to things I had not seen before, which gave me a new perspective. In a seminar in the research field of Science for Human Services (known as a cluster), I was fortunate to spend hours learning directly from the team of professors who authored the book and learned that my pursuit was biased with knowledge limited only to the world of health care and nursing. This made me realize that the meaning of the words and messages written in the Study of On-site Interpersonal Support matched what I had witnessed at the disaster relief sites. The classes were stimulating and provided many opportunities to rethink my own values and stance. While I continued studying every day and worked on my thesis, I realized the messages and key words I had gained through learnings matched my own experiences. This amazed me again and caused a feeling of exaltation I had never felt before while teaching me how wonderful it is to engage in discussion. The advice from my colleagues in the cluster and classes left me with invaluable wisdom. I am extremely happy to be able to convey in the form of a thesis a synergy of the many encounters and learnings during my graduate school days with what I learned from my experiences. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for bestowing this opportunity upon me.

In closing, on behalf of the graduate school students, I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to the many teachers for their guidance, the faculty, our families, friends and everyone else who supported us until today. I sincerely pray for the further development of the Graduate School of Science for Human Services, Interpersonal Support Studies, and further success of everyone.

　私たちは、それぞれの目標を胸に、立命館大学大学院に入学しました。私は、法務研究科にて、法的思考力を養うとともに、将来、法曹としてどのような仕事がしたいのかを模索したいと思い、この2年間を過ごしてきました。

　法的な紛争解決のプロセスは、事案を丁寧に分析し、法的な問題点を抽出することから始まります。その支えとなるのは基礎的な法律知識です。そして、抽出した問題点を解決するために、必要な法解釈を行い、それを事案に適用して結論を導き出します。

　法務研究科では、対話形式で授業が進みます。自分では理解しているつもりでも、先生から質問されると言葉に詰まってしまった経験から、自らの法律知識やそれを表現する力の不十分なところに気づきました。また、先生や友人との議論のなかで、一人で教科書を読んでいるときには思いつかなかった疑問が浮かぶこともあり、それを解消することでより理解が深まりました。
授業を通して、法的思考の型を身につける訓練の機会を得ることができたと感じています。

　授業では、心理学や社会学など、法学以外の観点から紛争解決のあり方を考える機会にも恵まれました。
心理学の初歩的な知識を活用して、交渉成立を目指すロールプレイを体験した科目では、言葉の選び方、話の聞き方の小さな違いによって、相手が受ける印象は大きく異なりうることを実感し、円滑なコミュニケーションが紛争解決の基盤となることを学びました。
また、外国人学生と共に、英語で日本法を学ぶ科目では、国際的にも注目されている「人質司法」の問題をはじめ、社会や法制度の違いがポップカルチャーに与える影響など、幅広い問題について、率直な意見交換をすることができました。
人は、それぞれ異なるバックグラウンドをもっており、多様性の尊重は現代社会の最も重要な課題の1つです。コミュニケーションの図り方を見つめ直したこと、異なる価値観に触れて、日本の法制度について新たな問題意識を持つことができたことは、とても貴重な財産になったと確信しています。

　これまでの学生生活を振り返ると、改めて出会いに恵まれたことに気づきます。
先生方は、学生一人ひとりに対し、誠実に向き合ってくださりました。オフィスアワーや自主ゼミのお願いにも快く応じていただき、日々の学習での疑問や悩みを解消することができました。先生方の熱心で丁寧なご指導が、自らの弱点に向き合う励みとなりました。また、実務家教員の先生方が、法曹の先輩として、それぞれの仕事の魅力を伝えてくださったことで、法曹としてのビジョンを持てるようになりました。
自分なりの学び方を見つけ、目標に向かって努力するにあたり、気さくで優しい友人たちや頼もしい先輩方の存在は、とても心強いものでした。友人たちの温かい言葉、そして、直向きに自習室の机に向かう姿に、いつも勇気づけられました。先輩方からは、何度も親身なアドバイスを頂きました。素晴らしい友人たちや先輩方と、切磋琢磨しながら学生生活を送れたことを誇りに思います。
かけがえのない出会いに心から感謝しています。

　来る5月、法務研究科修了生の多くは、司法試験を受験します。司法試験合格は、大切な目標ですが、あくまでも通過点です。この大学院生活で得た学びを糧に、それぞれが思い描くゴールに向かって、叶わない夢はないと信じながら、修了生一同、新たな一歩を踏み出したいと思います。

　最後になりますが、熱意をもってご指導くださった先生方、並びに、快適な学生生活の実現のためご尽力いただきました職員の皆様、そして、最も近くで私たちの成長を見守り、あらゆる面で支え続けてくださった家族の皆様に、修了生を代表して心から感謝を申し上げまして、修了生代表の挨拶とさせていただきます。

修了生代表
法務研究科 長澤 茉梨乃

Each of us set a goal when he or she entered a graduate school at Ritsumeikan University. I spent two years at the School of Law in pursuit of developing legal thinking and exploring what kind of legal profession I want to take in the future.

Settling legal disputes starts with a close examination of the case in question, followed by the extraction of legal issues involved. Supporting the process is fundamental knowledge on law. Then, in order to solve the extracted issues, lawyers make necessary legal interpretations and apply them to the case to draw a conclusion.

At the School of Law, classes are conducted through interactive discussion. One day, a teacher asked me a question about which I thought I knew how to answer, but I could not explain the answer. This experience made me realize that my knowledge on law was insufficient and I lacked an ability to explain such knowledge. Some discussions with teachers and friends also made me come up with questions that would be unconceivable through a textbook-based self-study alone. By answering such questions, I was able to deepen my understanding.

I feel that through classes I was able to get training opportunities for me to develop patterns for legal thinking.

In classes, I was also given opportunities to think about approaches to settling disputes from different perspectives other than law, such as psychology and sociology.

In a course in which I experienced role-playing where I tried to achieve a settlement through negotiation using an elementary knowledge of psychology, I felt that choice of words and a slight difference in the manner of listening could produce a significant difference in impressions received by other players. I learned that smooth communication serves as the foundation for dispute settlements.

Also, in a course in which I studied Japanese law in English together with foreign students, I was able to engage in a frank exchange of views on a wide range of tissues. These include Japan’s so-called “hostage justice,” which has drawn international attention recently, and differences of social and legal systems between countries and their impact on each country’s pop culture.

People have different backgrounds. Respecting their diversity is one of the most important challenges facing our society. At Ritsumeikan, I was able to review how to communicate with other people, and exposure to different values enabled me to renew my awareness of Japan’s legal systems. I am convinced that these experiences have become valuable assets for me.

Reflecting back on my life at Ritsumeikan, I can say again that there were many good meetings.

Teachers were sincere to each of us, responding positively to our requests in a range of issues, from adjustment in their office hours to student-led seminars. They helped me solve my questions and problems in day-to-day learning. Their passionate and meticulous guidance became my motivation to face my weak points. Also helpful was teaching by people already working in the legal community. They told us how attractive legal jobs are based on their experiences. By listening to them, I was able to envision my future as a legal expert.

Working with frank and gentle friends and reliable senior students was very encouraging to me while I was striving to find my own learning style and reach academic goals. Friends gave me kind words and were seen heading directly to a self-study room at the university. This was always encouragement for me. From senior students, I received kind advice many times. I feel proud that I was able to spend my college life while working hard and improving together with wonderful friends and senior students.

I truly feel grateful for such invaluable encounters.

Many of us will take a national bar examination in May. Passing the exam is an important goal for us. But it is also a passage point. Based on what we learned at the School of Law, all of us will take a new step ahead to achieve the goal envisioned by each of us, believing that there is no dream that cannot be achieved.

In closing, on behalf of all other graduating students, I would like to whole-heartedly express our thanks to all people who have supported us until today—teachers who helped us enthusiastically on the academic front, administrative staff who did their best to make our campus life comfortable, and families who were closest to each of us to watch our growth and give helping hands on all fronts.

Marino Nagasawa
Valedictorian for Graduate School
School of Law