How come ?  A Fund-raising Campaign at a Coming-of-Age Ceremony ?!

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　Still being a relatively new member of Meguro UNESCO, it seemed odd to me to collect contributions at an event such as the coming-of-age ceremony. I was told that it was only last year that the Meguro Board of Education started putting a donation box at the venue of the event, which was quite a new idea nationwide.The Terakoya Movement booth was nothing big, but it was my greatest pleasure to be able to work together in this meaningful activity.　   I believe that the act of donating is something done when we are in a sweet and thoughtful state of mind. We cannot feel like donating when we are in a bad mood or when in trouble.　And so, it was only when the young 20 year-olds came to appreciate how fortunate they really were that they could make a donation of their own accord. Thanks to the festive and joyous feeling of the occasion, it worked, and we could see them actually changing before our very eyes. They got our message and we got theirs. Gee! You young people out there aren’t bad at all, are you?
On a day of celebration, let’s do something good for ourselves, and another for our neighbors. The act of donating is only a beginning. My wish is for people to feel something and to cherish that feeling so that it might lead to the next big step forward. It takes time for this kind of movements to win a far and wide support, but it has already started.

>>> “Sweetness & Thoughtfulness,” from Meguro UNESCO. >>>　　By Machi Hayashi

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　

On Jan. 12, Meguro Persimmon Hall was packed with joyous new grown-ups in celebration of coming-of-age. The second part of the ceremony was a “Congratulations Concert” of a piano and marimba performance, open to the public. On the piano was Mitsutaka Shiraishi, well known to Meguro UNESCO. On the marimba was Shoichi Takayashiki, a promising young musician. Both are alumni of elementary and junior high schools in Meguro. At the climax of their performance, Mr. Shiraishi recited a poem by Tanigawa Shuntaro called “Ikiru (To Live)”, followed by the moving music of the marimba.

In the end, the Mr. Shiraishi offered Chopin’s “Polonaise Heroique” to the young 20 year-olds, as a gift to welcome them into a new stage in life.

　

The Training Program Committee bases its activities on a UNESCO spirit of world peace, “to know and understand each other”. We provide learning opportunities not only to the members of Meguro UNESCO Association but also to the general public. And since this is the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation, we would like to implement some special and significant events for this memorable year, in addition to our regular activities.