Wang：I chose to study at AGU in particular because the University is implementing “The Aoyama Standard,” a common curriculum system to provide all students with comprehensive education. As the world becomes more globalized, it needs people with comprehensive abilities. I aim to join a university faculty in the future, for which I need to become a broadly learned and cultured person in addition to having my own field of specialization, and to have some basic knowledge that cuts across diverse academic fields as well as a multifaceted viewpoint and the ability to understand others’ psychological situations. AGU, which provides “The Aoyama Standard” and where I can get good training in my chosen area of history, was therefore an attractive choice as a place for learning.

Huang：The Logical Thinking in ‘GO’ class, which I attended in my junior year, was a unique class. Go has its origins in China, but I knew nothing about it, including the rules, until I learned about it in this class, specifically, how to improve your Go skills and practical Go techniques. Students in the class were also given opportunities to play Go with one another. To win, I had to think very logically and the more I played, the better my logical thinking skills got.

Wang：I also attended that class, which was quite interesting. In addition to acquiring logical thinking skills, I was also able to develop the ability to read my opponent. I played games with a different student each time, which I think also helped me improve my communication skills. The class definitely helped me acquire the ability to work as a member of faculty at a university in the future. This unique class is definitely one of the benefits provided by AGU.

Wang：In the Eastern History Course, I focused on conducting comparative research into the culture and history of the East Asian region, including the northeastern part of China, where I was born, South Korea and Japan. I also studied Korean as a second foreign language. In the seminars held by Professor Wataru IIJIMA, who specializes in modern Asian history, I have been conducting research into differences between Japan, China and South Korea regarding the “ondol,”, which is an underfloor heating system traditionally used in the northeastern part of East Asia. The ondol is a device to transfer heat from the kitchen stove through an underfloor channel to heat the entire room. In more recent times, the heat source was changed to gas, but the ondol is still used for heating in households in the northeastern part of China and on the Korean Peninsula. In Japan, however, there is no evidence of the use of the ondol beyond some signs found at ancient remains. Wondering why the ondol ceased to be used in Japan, which is a country that has much in common with the northeastern part of China and the Korean Peninsula in terms of climate and culture, I decided to focus on this topic as my research theme. Although the theme is related not only to history but also to archeology and folklore studies, few research activities have been conducted on it in any of these academic fields, and I would like to unravel the mystery on my own by conducting research activities including field surveys. After graduating from AGU, I would like to study at graduate school to become a university faculty member teaching Eastern history and to teach Chinese students and more people in China about Japan in the context of East Asia in an objective manner.

Huang：After entering the University, I was initially interested in modern Japanese history. However, attending the Lecture on History A (4) got me more interested in the history of Japan’s colonial policies in Southeast Asia and led me to conduct research into those policies. In the class, we learned about the famous decision made by Emperor Hirohito, which is said to have had a great impact on the ending of the Pacific War. The fact that we confirmed the truth of the related statements in reference to various historical materials left a lasting impression on me. In order to verify one thing, we need to wrestle with lots and lots of historical materials. Verifying the truth of the related materials is a basic requirement to be met in historical research, and the class helped me understand the essence of this. For my graduation thesis, I am now performing an analysis of higher education provided in Japan’s colonies in East Asia and the impact it had. Before coming to study in Japan, I had been taught about Japan’s colonial history in China, but I am afraid it was not from an objective viewpoint.

Huang：The two of us share the goal of becoming a researcher after studying at graduate school. Professor Iijima, thinking about our futures, is guiding us very attentively and yet strictly, giving us more opportunities to make presentations at seminars and take on more difficult challenges than other students. Being paired with Ms. Wang to summarize the third chapter of What is History? (Macmillan, 1961. Japanese translation, Ikutaro SHIMIZU, Iwanami, 1962) and give insight into the details left quite an impression on me. We read through this difficult book on history and strived to understand the details, and I wrote a manuscript for us to make an oral presentation at the seminar. Following this nearly 20,000-character manuscript, Ms. Wang prepared the presentation materials. It was a difficult process, but we felt a great sense of achievement when we were able to make a high-quality presentation on the book.

Huang：The University helped me a lot through the “Tutors” , the support system for international students. Under the support system I was able to receive a lot of daily life advice that was useful to me as international student at AGU. Wishing to do something for younger students in return for the help and consideration extended to me, I volunteered to serve as a tutor in my junior year and helped freshmen and sophomores learn more by planning cultural activities for them, such as visits to museums. Tutors can help international students with every little question they might have, and I hope that more international students will make effective use of the tutor system.
To be honest, AGU was not my first choice among the universities that I applied for. After attending the University, however, I have found that it provides me with a great learning environment beyond my initial expectations, and I have been able to make good progress in my studies at AGU.

Wang：If you want to become a person who can thrive in a global society as a professional with comprehensive skills, I think studying at AGU is the right option. For me, encounters with Professor Iijima and various other teachers have been invaluable.

Huang：I agree with Ms. Wang. Encounters with great teachers are my best memories at AGU. For international students who want to study history, I would really recommend that they choose to study at AGU’s Department of History.