It is said that we are in an era of globalization, however globalization is nothing more than the identification of individual cultures and values that were nurtured by the various nations and peoples around the world. Even though globalization may spread, there is no way that all of these individual cultures and values, which were born hundreds, or perhaps thousands of years ago in each corner of the world, will blend completely into one. In other words, because there exists a vast variety of cultures, there is a chance for progress through which people will have the opportunity to lead a happy life.
Then what is the correct way for the Japanese to face this era of globalization? The most important thing is that we ourselves must remain aware of our heritage and keep in mind the state of our culture. What I mean by culture is the patterns of lifestyle and the mentality of the Japanese. The true meaning of globalization is not simply accepting and blindly adapting foreign cultures. We need to constantly ask ourselves questions such as, “What does it mean to be Japanese?” and, “What is Japanese culture,” while being constantly conscious of our identity as we accept and adapt foreign cultures. Kokugakuin University, based on the Koten Kokyusho (an educational institution founded for research on Japanese Shinto classics), itself founded in 1882, was established as a school specializing in national history, national literature, and national law, while focusing on the origins of Japan based on Japan’s unique history and culture, as the name ‘Kokugakuin,’ using ‘Koku’ the Chinese character for ‘country,’ indicates. The educational philosophy of our school is: clarifying the values of Japanese culture, based on these studies, and disseminating it to other countries. In today’s globalization, when we are trying to learn the cultures of various peoples, beginning with that of the West, we believe that we need all the more to look at our way of life as Japanese.
Until recently, the Japanese did not feel the need to fully explain “what people we are” to other people of the world. But as globalization spreads as it has in recent years, it is not enough for us to simply accept information from abroad. I think we first need to truly understand “what people we are, what kind of culture we have nurtured,” and then try to disseminate our culture to the world.
In order to accommodate the changes of the times, Kokugakuin University has continued to improve its curriculum and organization in order to instill excellence in education and research. In the research field, the five-year financial support program, Establishment of a National Learning Institute for the Dissemination of Research on Shinto and Japanese Culture, which was chosen as part of the 21st Century COE Program by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), has been completed. Moreover, we inaugurated our Organization for the Advancement of Research and Development in 2007 in order to further this research and promote our “Wisdom and Practice of Traditions Learned from Things and Feelings” plan, chosen as part of the ORC improvement project started in 2007 by MEXT. The Academic Media Center building, including a world-class library, was completed in the spring of 2008. We expect that research will be further advanced with this as a base. In education, we have enhanced our introductory classes, and in our general education and specialized education programs too, we will continue to improve our curriculum to suit today’s world of globalization. We also inaugurated The Institute for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning in 2009 in order to improve the educational capability of the university.
As University president, I intend to lead the faculty and students alike in taking action to initiate further improvements in order to heighten the level of excellence and satisfaction of our education. It is my sincere desire that students who study at our university will understand our founding spirit, and mature into citizens capable of playing active roles in the vast globalized world of the future.
