NEWS

2024 Spring Commencement Ceremony was held

Update: March 22, 2024

479 undergraduate students and 42 graduate students graduated from ICU at its spring commencement ceremony held at the University Chapel on Friday, March 22.

At the ceremony, each student's name was read out in keeping with tradition that has continued since the first commencement ceremony. Also, students sang hymn together and listened to the scripture reading and President's commencement address.

After the ceremony, students cheerfully greeted their friends at various places on campus, which was calm and peaceful under clear sky.

 

Scripture Reading

Matthew:3-18 13 by Adam Randall Smith (Religious Affairs Committe)

Commencement Address by Shoichiro Iwakiri, President

Congratulations to all who have completed your Bachelor of Arts program in our Division of Arts and Sciences as well as to those who have finished the MA or PhD programs in our Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and who are graduating today. I also offer my sincere congratulations to all family members, relatives and friends of our graduates.

The ceremony we are celebrating today is called "sotsugyo-shiki" in Japanese and 'commencement ceremony' in English. The word 'sotsu' means 'to finish, to complete', while the English word 'commencement', coming from the French word 'commencement', means 'beginning'.
So we're looking at the same thing from two completely different points of view. I find this very interesting. It is through the bilingual filter of Japanese and English that we come to recognize this kind of phenomenon.
Therefore, this 'ceremony' is not just a celebration of your graduation, but also a celebration of the beginning of a new stage in your life, construction of a new stage for you to stand on.

For many of you graduating today, your studies began four years ago. That was at the outset of the spread of the new coronavirus, which meant that the matriculation ceremony was canceled, the campus was closed and online courses began.
At that time, in a filmed address to newly enrolled students, I shared the following thoughts with you, interpreting in my own way what the idea of 'tomorrow' might mean in the concept of the 'university of tomorrow' (as ICU defines itself):

To us (...), the future is not simply a date marked on our calendar. It is a condition wherein we understand human nature, society and the natural world at a deeper level. Regardless of our interests and the focus of our research, each of us is creating a new tomorrow, opening ourselves and proceeding to a new, albeit unknown future.

I also said that "the freedom inculcated by the liberal arts is fundamentally linked to goodness", and expressed the following wish for you all:

When such questions as "What is important for human happiness?" "What is good and what is bad for human existence and for the world?" need to be asked, we need individuals who possess the inner ability to come to clear judgments even in extreme, critical circumstances.

Four years later, the feelings I had then have not changed. I believe that, through your years of study and research at ICU, you have cultivated the ability to understand people, society and nature on a deeper level than you did before you entered the university. And I am sure you will continue to deepen your understanding in the future. Through the liberal arts, I'm sure you've developed the intellectual and spiritual energy to do just that.

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As the coronavirus pandemic drew to a close, all of a sudden the Russian military invasion of Ukraine erupted and, since last autumn, a series of massacres, reprisals and conflicts between Hamas and Israel has continued in a decisive escalation of a conflict that has lasted for decades. At the same time, in a different way, our society and our modern civilisation are beset by a host of questions that need to be addressed.

These circumstances bring us face to face with the founding principles of ICU. One of these is to nurture each student into a global citizen who will contribute to building peace. From conflicts between nations and ethnic groups to squabbles between individuals in everyday life, there are many types of conflict and corresponding types of peace.
I hope that each of you who receives your diploma today will be a peacemaker, in accordance with God's will, wherever your life intersects with broader society.

At the same time, there is something else we are invited to build. Through sensory impressions, the world constantly beckons us to discover what is worth living for: this is the "construction of a true life", as the French writer Marcel Proust put it in his novel La Prisonnière.
In the novel, the narrator reflects on this while listening to a septet composed by Vinteuil. He describes what is revealed in this real life as "a presentiment most different from that which this boring earthly life assigns, a bold approximation to the joys of the afterlife"(Ibid.). These sensations draw us beyond the difficulties, disappointments, sorrows and joys we experience in life.
I pray that each of you will use them as a reference point to build a true life for yourself throughout your life.

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I still remember the shock when, four years ago, I realized that students had totally disappeared from campus.
In this difficult situation, you were courageous in overcoming these difficulties by connecting with each other and helping each other, even though you must have felt very anxious and lonely inside.
I'm very grateful for all your efforts. I also think that the fact that the campus is full of your voices is already a sign of blessing.
There are a lot of things I couldn't do well as president, but your youth and energy were a great support for me. Please allow me to use this occasion to tell you that I'm very grateful to you all.

I wish you a good and happy life with all that you have gained from your experience and friendships at ICU. I hope you will continue to walk the path of truth.

Congratulations on your graduation.