My last special memory of when I was in the U.S. as a student abroad, in May 2004, is one of singing the American national anthem in front of baseball players such as Ichiro and Hideki Matsui.

I have so many hobbies?skiing, playing squash, tennis, scuba diving, etc. But many of my close friends know that I especially love to sing. And the songs I love are wide-ranging. I love to listen to opera music (generally classical music), musicals, pop, rock, and Japanese "enka." I also love to sing them all. These days, when I go to karaoke with students in my seminar, I sing songs by Kobukuro, and Bon-Jovi, and Ishikawa Sayuri. But the most exciting time is when I harmonize in a song with somebody.

When I was in graduate school in New York, I joined a men’s choir called the “New York Men’s Choir (NYMC)” which consisted of Japanese businessmen. I was in mixed choirs when I was in junior high school and in college, but I had never been in a men’s choir, consisting of two tenors, a baritone, and a bass. Since my voice is high, I chose to be the top tenor. Compared to a mixed chorus, a men’s chorus has a narrow voice range, and with chords, it can sound very grave and can make complicated chords. I thought that was interesting so I worked hard in the choir while finishing my doctoral thesis.

In NYMC, we sang Japanese songs in special arrangements, and enka in Japanese, as well as gospel music and musicals in English. We also arranged SMAP’s song “ The Only Flower in the World” for chorus. We had several concerts and sang Christmas carols in a hospital, but in the end, the most impressive event was singing “The Star Spangled Banner” at Yankee Stadium before the game started.

Singing the American national anthem in front of Japanese players like Ichiro, Matsui, and Hasegawa, and in front of an audience of more than 30,000, was a far more precious memory for me than my PhD hooding ceremony.