Graduation

Today was graduation day at Japan University of Economics. We (the nine scholarship students from Oxford and Cambridge who are studying Japanese language this year) were expected to attend the ceremony too, and so we duly sat through an hour and a half of speeches of which I understood very little. Still, I liked the atmosphere, and it worth it just to see all these lovely kimonos!

This picture shows the graduates from the "Childhood Pedagogy" course, who were all dressed to the nines, and looking fabulous. I like how this picture draws attention to the sheer volume of work that was present in that hall. I don't just mean the work that had got them through all the intellectual rigours and social intricacies of university life, but also in the visual and physical sense, perhaps more immediately manifest. The amount of preparation and attention to detail that each one of these women's appearances displayed was amazing - hair coiffured, delicately tied layers of dress, matching accessories... I think that what I felt most was the tangible sense of pride present: the hope and the promise and the bravery of these young people on the day of their graduation, on the brink of new and as yet unknown adventures.

The flag in the upper left hand corner of the photograph is that of my own college, St. Anne's (twinned with the JUE). Although my friends in the UK have already done so, I have yet to book my own graduation day. I feel that today has given me a glimpse of it, however, and I am looking forward to the celebration very much.