People : Showa-Ikeda Award Winner In search of a new educational environment
Mr. Ittoku Tomano

Ittoku Tomano was born in 1980 in Hyogo Prefecture. After graduating from Kansei Gakuin High School and the Waseda School of Education, he entered the Graduate School of Education where, after receiving his master's degree, he is now a first year Ph.D. student in the seminar of Professor Chiharu Fujii. His hobbies are playing guitar and enjoying all kinds of sports. When he was an undergraduate, he founded “Waseda Donuts,” an international cultural exchange club for elementary school students.

The Showa-Ikeda prize is awarded to outstanding students every year by Showa-Ikeda Memorial Foundation. Tomano was selected as the winner of the highest award for his concept of a cross-cultural and cross-generational community school, presented under the title “Toward a new educational environment.”

“I felt a sense of unease with regard to the present school system, which demands that students be identical to each other. I thought it would be great if we could have a place where no one cares about nationality, generation, language, culture, or religion. Actually, the possibility of that kind of interaction has been confirmed by the establishment of a combination kindergarten and retirement home. I want to further develop this idea and create a dynamic education environment” says Tomano. The fact that he is still close friends with a German boy he has known since childhood and the student group Waseda-Donut ("Wase-Do" for short) that he founded supports his borderless education concept.

“I had been devoting myself to Waseda-Donut, which linked elementary school students, international students, and college students. When I left the club and the younger students said �eThank you for founding Wase-Do”, I cried like a baby.” Tamano looks like a tough guy, but he is a surprisingly sensitive person. Once he starts laughing, he cannot stop. Moreover, he used to greet people by saying “I love you!” “So, a Taiwanese male friend of mine shouted to me �eI love you, Ittoku’ on the platform of Takadanobana Station. At that, even I felt embarrassed and decided to stop greeting people that way.” (grin)

“My Korean friends will just open my refrigerator without asking me. At first, I was taken aback by their actions but they have the politeness to pay me back double. I really like them. Many international students want to make Japanese friends but there is no good place to do it. Once we prepare such a place for them, I believe that we can share our joys and sorrows together. There are exchange students who went home really moved because they were able to make Japanese friends who became as close as family members. It's fun because everybody is different. That's what's so appealing to me,” says Tomano.

Now, Tomano is a Ph.D. student in Education. He is trying to make his “Cross-cultural and Cross-generational Community School” a reality. The theme is "the love of human beings.” Tomano's good-natured smile may create a totally new educational environment. I would really like to go to his kind of school.