Notes from the President's Office¡¡No.6 Remembering the ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Students Who Did Not Return on the Anniversary of the War's End
August 18, 2022
Professor Kohei Itoh
President, ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡
A sculpture of a young man, "Heiwa Kitaru," whose name translates as "peace has come," stands in front of the Jukukan-kyoku (ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Corporate Administration) on ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡'s Mita Campus. On August 15, 2022, the anniversary of the end of World War II, Chief Administration Officer Toshiko Hirota and I laid flowers at the foot of Heiwa Kitaru. The statue is inscribed with the following words of tribute to the ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ students who lost their lives from Shinzo Koizumi, who was ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ President during the war.
On peaceful days on the Hill of Mita
I remember those who went out but never returned
Reflecting on these sentiments, ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ commits itself to the cause of learning: to avoid at all costs a repeat of the mobilization to war of our students; to protect the sovereign nation of Japan; and to contribute to the stable and peaceful progress of the world. More information on the statue of the young man "Heiwa Kitaru" can be found in the May 2014Mita-hyoron(official monthly journal published by ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Press) article contributed by ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Vice-President Keita Yamauchi. Another statue to the ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ war dead the "Monument to Those Lost," which contains a list of persons related to ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ who lost their lives in the war, stands facing "Heiwa Kitaru." We also observed a moment of silence at the Monument to Those Lost.