 4 plum blossom trees in front of Doshisha Univ. Chapel Aug 3 2015 Chapel It wasn’t because Doshisha University of Kyoto was a Christian school that I came to here.
But I am grateful that it is a school founded on the basis of Christian spirit by Niijima Jo, and that there is an old chapel in the middle of campus.
This was the first building that Niijima Jo who had studied at Phillips Academy, Amherst College and Andover Theological Seminary founded 140 years ago in 1875. They open this building for only 30 minutes a day to protect the building which is one of the major cultural assets of Japan. I tried to go there every day to pray.
Sitting inside a unique and beautiful chappel with stained glass that are made of wood, not steel, chapel of Ewha Women’s University with similar history that I went to in Seoul long ago sometimes comes to my mind.
In front of the chapel four plum trees, symbol of Doshisha university and also a philosophy of Niijima Jo, are planted. And next to the trees, a famous line of tanka, a plum flower poem that he composed, is engraved in his own handwriting.
I look at the one line poem, trying to remember the meaning of planting plum flowers, the faith of the founder in addition to the hard academic studies.
Yet, the 30,000 Doshisha students seem to be ignorant of this, as only 10 students gather in the beautiful chapel with antique bricks.
I hope Doshisha students would give worship and read the Bible while they are in school.
It’s because they need to know the Christian spirit of Niijima Jo, the founder of Doshisha University.
He is a nationally respected figure, not just as an educator. There are also some pilgrims who look for his traces. He became more famous as an NHK historical drama series which covered Niijima Jō and his wife Yaeko aired last year.
Ewha girls’ middle and high school, my alma mater, allocated time for Bible study. 3,000 students of Ewha also practiced worship at an open-air theater every morning. In Ewha Women’s University students practiced worship every Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoon led by professors in turn. If we didn’t attend, we didn’t get enough credits to graduate. I thought it was a waste of time then, yet later, I realized that it was a great advantage for my life.
I hear some complaints like, there is no time due to too much schoolwork, or that freedom of religion should be protected, or that since it gets funding from the government it cannot force students a religion. It is true that academic workload for Doshisha students is intense. Yet, on a broader perspective, while it is important to obtain knowledge while in school, it is more important to study the root of life at a delicate age.
I feel sorry that the percentage of Christians in Japan, a country with many good people, is only 1%, and that more students don’t gather at a chapel of this famous Christian university.
I became a Christian after studying at Christian Schools in Korea.
Everyone has their limits. They may face walls in their life and look for God. I hope graduates from Doshisha at least will be able to inherit Niijima Jo’s worthy spirit and move in the right direction in their long life in the future.
Interpersonal relationship is important, but relationship with God is also important in my opinion.
I feel happy and grateful that I am studying at a Christian University in Japan.
Like plum flowers which overcame the cold winter the truth will blossom amid difficult environment Niijima Jo 
도시샤 대학의 상징인 채플 앞 4 그루 매화 
2월 추위 속 피어났던 매화꽃에 열린 한여름 매실 - 2015 7 11 
일본 중요문화재인 도시샤 채플의 옆 모습 - 2015 7 9 
스테인드 글라스가 특이한 채플, 창립자 니이지마 조의 초상화 우편 
채플앞 니이지마 조의 '매화' 시비, 우편엔 윤동주 시비가 -2015 7 2 |
