President’s Address at the Convocation Ceremony for the Fall 2024 Semester

　Congratulations on your entering Doshisha University. It is my great pleasure to welcome you here at Kambaikan on the Imadegawa Campus. Welcome to Doshisha University. I would like to express my profound respect to all of you gathering here today for your past efforts. I would also like to extend my congratulations to the families who have nurtured and watched over you until this day.
　Today, I would like to share with you what Doshisha University has valued since its foundation. I will begin with the origin of this building, Kambaikan.
　Kambaikan, opened in 2004, was named after the Chinese poem by our founder Joseph Hardy Neesima, “Truth is like a plum blossom in the cold. It dares to bloom, braving storms and snows.” The poem likens truth to a plum blossom blooming in the cold weather as if to resist wind and snow. Neesima wrote down this poem on a piece of autograph paper and gave it to a student.
　After graduating from Doshisha, the student would go on to live in the time that was turbulent as if in the middle of storms and snows. He first worked in media under journalist Tokutomi Soho, Neesima’s disciple, and eventually went into the financial world after twists and turns. The name of this student who was given the Chinese poem from Neesima is Fukai Eigo. Fukai went on to become the 13th Governor of the Bank of Japan, and then also served as a member of the House of Peers.
　Fukai Eigo exerted his abilities and paved new ways in the rapidly changing social circumstances. Whenever he faced a major obstacle like wind and snow, he would have continued his pursuit and practice of truth with the poem given by Neesima, “truth is like a plum blossom in the cold. It dares to bloom, braving storms and snows,” in his mind.
　What is truth? It is a huge theme, but it might be the most suitable theme to discuss on the occasion of the convocation ceremony. University is a place for seeking truth, but the pursuit of truth does not end there, it will continue after you graduate from the university and go into the world. In university, you will learn an important academic base to become a lifetime seeker of truth. 
　Some of you may think that you want to learn more specific specialized knowledge than a vast issue like truth. It goes without saying that deepening your expertise is important. At the same time, however, no single academic field is sufficient by itself to solve any of the serious issues facing the contemporary society. Digging deep into one field may sometimes reach a larger water vein leading to other fields. A high level of expertise is compatible with the ability to overview various issues in society. It is my hope that each one of you will become a seeker and practitioner of truth who can confront the difficulties facing the contemporary society with expert knowledge.
　Now, let us think of the question, “what is truth?” from yet another angle. Neesima left meaningful words about truth in one of his sermons, saying “a prisoner of truth is a truly free person.” A prisoner normally refers to someone who is deprived of various liberties and under constraint in everyday life. But Neesima says that someone captured by truth is a truly free person. What do you think of this paradox of truth that the one who is captured is the one who is truly free?
　It is not easy to free yourself from the fixed ideas developed inside you through your own experiences. Some may lock themselves in their own small prison, convincing themselves “I can only do this much.” By learning, we can not only gain objective knowledge but also get to know who we are. It is my belief that through pursuing truth and through learning, we can liberate ourselves to be freer and be our own person.
　In the poem “truth is like a plum blossom in the cold. It dares to bloom, braving storms and snows,” Neesima described truth as the force to resist the trend of the society and the times. In his words “a prisoner of truth is a truly free person,” he described truth as the force to fight one’s past self and to liberate oneself. Whether it is against society or oneself, Neesima defined truth as the force to take on challenges, and Doshisha has inherited this spirit of taking on challenges over generations.
　Doshisha will celebrate its 150th anniversary next year in 2025. 150 years on since the time when Joseph Hardy Neesima and Fukai Eigo lived, drastic changes have been made in our society, such as technological development. On the other hand, however, many other things remain unchanged. Regional conflicts and wars still continue ceaselessly in different parts of the world. Moreover, serious problems like climate change, widening economic disparity, and discrimination surround us. No matter how difficult these problems are, we must face and solve them, braving storms and snows.
　We can learn a lot from history. The 150-year history of Doshisha tells us a lot of problems and lessons. Your student life is about to begin with the convocation ceremony here in Kambaikan. I would like you to remember Neesima’s words, “truth is like a plum blossom in the cold. It dares to bloom, braving storms and snows” as you proceed with your studies in university.
　At this significant turning point in our history, I am pleased to welcome you, our new students, into Doshisha, the community of knowledge where we pursue truth together. I would like to conclude my address by congratulating you on your enrollment and wishing you a fruitful and productive student life.