Boston Tomonkai

About the Boston Tomonkai

The Boston Tomonkai was founded in June of 1996. According to club records, the Tomonkai began as a way to rally support for a Waseda-Keio football match that was to be held at Harvard University. After this event the Tomonkai remained inactive for a period, but was finally rebooted in December of 2014 and already lists roughly 40 members on its roster as of July, 2015. As the Chairperson mentions in his message, thus far we’ve held quite a number of successful events thanks to our enthusiastic members. We invite all alumni, whether they currently reside in the New England area or have moved on to further endeavors, to give us a call and join in our events. Also, be sure to check out our facebook page!
Website: https://www.facebook.com/BostonWaseda
Former Secretary General Koichiro Kimura (Graduated in 2012, Graduate School of Economics, PhD), Secretary General Masako Shiotani (Graduated in 2009, School of Political Science and Economics)

The attractive points of New England

Boston is the capital of the state of Massachusetts, and the largest city in the six states of the New England region. Boston is also one of the oldest and most storied cities in the United States: it was founded by the puritans in the 17th century and in the 18th was the site of the Boston Tea Party, an event which helped catalyze the movement for American Independence. Boston also boasts very high standards of education and quality of life and hosts numerous world-class universities and medical centers such as Harvard and MIT.

And on the weekends, you will never be at a loss for outdoor activities: Summer offers swimming off of Cape Cod in the “Bay State” of Massachusetts, and winter brings skiing in Vermont, also known as the Green Mountain State. For those who prefer indoor activities, there is the Boston museum with its wonderful collection of Japanese art and the Boston symphony orchestra, once lead by none other than the famous Seiji Ozawa. And if you get the chance, be sure to head out in the summer to the Tanglewood music festival where you can listen to live music and drink wine to your hearts content out on the lawn.
Former vice-chairperson Takahiro Ide (Graduated in 1995, School of Law)

Message from the Chairperson

The Boston Tomonkai, located in New England’s premier college town, has officially reopened for business! If you delve back into the history of this organization, you’ll find that it was founded way back in 1996; however, until last year the organization had been on an indefinite hiatus. But fortunately, with the help of our current members and a number of Waseda students studying abroad at Boston University, we were able to restart the Boston Tomonkai in time for vice-president Hashimoto’s visit to the New England area. In the future we would like to continue to give a warm welcome to and collaborate with all Waseda students studying abroad in the Boston area.

As one example of our activities thus far, we set up a booth last spring at Boston’s annual Japan Festival through the support of Waseda USA. Using the cherry blossom as a visual motif, our project showcased the importance of interpersonal ties. Thanks to everyone’s support, this project and the booth set up by Waseda Exchange students were both a great success! We have also arranged various local events, such as a recent group outing to see a Noh play performed by Kanji Shimizu, a noted Noh actor and alumnus of Waseda. Additionally, since many of our members are students and researchers who intend to return to Japan in the future, we plan to set up a branch office within Japan to support them there as well. In the future we would like to continue to expand our network both within the Boston area and further afield.
Chairperson Hideya Takaishi (Graduated in 1981, School of Law)

Messages from the Members

Before my transfer to Boston, I looked up the local Tomonkai here only to find that it was on hiatus. As luck would have it, I happened to meet up with two other Waseda alumni, Shingo Yano (Class of 1988, Political Science and Economics) and Koichiro Kimura (Class of 1999, Political Science and Economics), who were living in the area; and we decided put in a call to the Waseda Alumni Network. The temporarily reformed Tomonkai had its kickoff on December 8, 2014, and coincided with Waseda vice-president Shuji Hashimoto’s visit to Boston during his tour of overseas universities. This visit gave the Boston Tomonkai the energy it needed for a full scale reboot, and the Tomonkai was officially reformed on January 27, 2015. We expect to Boston Tomonkai to continue to flourish for many years to come.
Yusuke Morita (Faculty Alumnus 2007, Assistant professor Faculty of Human Sciences)

In the process of conducting my research at Harvard I came across the Boston Tomonkai, an encounter which has enriched my life here considerably. I was fortunate to have an opportunity to introduce both Japanese culture and Waseda’s study abroad program to prospective exchange students at Boston’s Japan festival last spring. Additionally, I always enjoy the dinner parties we host for visiting faculty and for Waseda students currently studying in Boston. Chatting with them and remembering old times always makes me feel like I’ve stepped back in time to Waseda. I hope that I can continue to develop the connections I have made here in the future even after I return to Japan.
Miri Iizuka (Graduated in 2009, School of Law)

I spent almost 5 years living near Boston before realizing that there was a Alumni group in the area. But after being clued in by a former classmate who was also a Tomonkai member, I decided to join. We set up a booth last spring at Boston’s Japan Festival, where we were able to talk to local residents interested in studying abroad at Waseda. In addition we regularly host dinner parties for alumni and current students, and chatting with them makes me feel like I’m right back in Takadanobaba. I would like to continue to help Waseda’s network in Boston grow larger and larger in the future.
Vice-chairperson Yuki Saito (Graduated in 2008, Graduate School of Science and Engineering,MS)

I’m an opera translator living in Boston since 1998. I am delighted to know that after most of the members of the Boston Tomonkai’s second incarnation (2011-2013) returned to Japan, a new group of members have decided to restart it in 2014. In May of this year, Waseda alumnus Noh Master Kanji Shimizu made his Boston premiere of a new play “Holy Mother in Nagasaki”. A number of Tomonkai members and their families enjoyed the memorable performance and gathered in the lobby afterwards under the flag of the Waseda alumni association for an impromptu reunion. It was a wonderful night full of high spirits and fond memories of Waseda University.
Mayumi Miura (Graduated in 1993, School of Letters, Arts and Sciences)

Covered in Waseda Gakuho, October 2015 Issue

Return to Alumni Network World Map