From July 28th through 30th, “Waseda Sajiki Waters” (“Waseda hot springs with theater seats”) held a 60th-anniversary event at Naruko hot springs in Miyagi, with various groups from Waseda University taking part, including members of the Japanese dance study club, the Chindon (Street Performance) study club, the Long Epic Song study club, and the Mixed chorus.

“Waseda Sajiki Waters” is the hot springs that seven students from Waseda’s School of Science and Engineering struck while practicing drilling in the summer of 1948. It is still used as a public bath and is loved by all the people of the town. During the event, a special train, the “Waseda Sajiki Waters 60th-anniversary train,” ran between Sendai and Naruko hot springs, and a mixed chorus welcomed visitors with the Alma Mater song at Naruko hot springs station. The Chindon study club paraded through the hot springs resort and Japanese dance and long epic songs were performed on a special stage. All three surviving alumni that did the digging 60 years ago came to the event, and many members of Miyagi Alumni Association participated, too.

What struck me most was that I was actually able to meet those great alumni who did the digging at that time and hear their stories in person. I was also able to communicate directly with many Waseda alumni and local people from Naruko hot springs. In normal club activity, no matter how hard we perform at a regular concert, we only see those that are interested in traditional performing arts such as Japanese dance. This time, however, there were many people who had no particular interest in that branch of the arts, yet we were able to perform in front of them and get applause and advice. That was a very valuable experience for us.

After the performances, some people began spontaneously to sing the Alma Mater, and it soon became a huge chorus involving everyone there, including students and alumni. It was a really great experience to have such communication through music there at Waseda Sajiki Waters. I was also overwhelmed by the great power of Waseda alumni, who keep creating people’s links that can reach across time.
There are still plenty of things that I don’t know about this world. But after this experience, I would really like to learn much more of the broader world, thereby enriching myself as a human being.