I was in charge of the eighth installment of the "Ph. Dreams" series of reports by graduate students Hokkaido University Koki Kanda, an 8th term student who was hired by Ambitious Leader's Program Fostering Future Leaders to Open New Frontiers in Materials Science (ALP) in 2020 (Hokkaido University Graduate School of Life Science It is. ALP is an educational program that fosters human resources who study cross-disciplinary studies centered on material science, cultivate high abilities as members of society, and who will play an active role internationally in a wide range of fields such as not only academic and research institutions but also private companies after obtaining a degree. Although the period as a subsidy project of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology ended in March 2020, it continues to be active as a project of Hokkaido University.
生命科学院に在籍している神田幸輝です。私は生物の行動の起因に興味を持って研究しています。また、剣道を小4から続けており、剣道漬けの青春を送っています。学部時代には体育会剣道部に所属し、全日本剣道連盟から四段を頂戴しました。
Now, as I continue my life as a researcher, there are times when I suddenly feel that there are similarities with the teachings of kendo. In kendo, there is a saying, "Beat and reflect, and be grateful for being hit." I remember these words when I fail repeatedly even though I followed the protocol, or when I get good results in an experiment I went on a trial basis. It's easy to be overwhelmed by the results of an experiment right in front of you. However, when you do well, it is important to think about the “factors that went well” so that you can reproduce it next time. In addition, when I make a mistake, I try to improve the next experiment by reviewing the experiment procedure and conditions.
I feel that kendo, where training is never-ending, and the path of endless research, where deeper hypotheses are born after clarifying hypotheses, are similar. The reason I was able to continue practicing kendo was because there was an axis called kendo, the path of character formation. I would like to quickly create my own axis in research as well.
Aspiring researchers like us are required to work hard, but in fact, the word "hard work", which is essential for this research, is also derived from the samurai way of thinking, which is the root of kendo. increase. Originally, it is based on the word ``Isshoken'', which describes how samurai in the Middle Ages risked their lives to protect their territory. I feel like a samurai-like figure of a researcher who pursues his specialty research thoroughly and tries to unravel the unknown world.
このように、剣道も研究も同じです。生涯スポーツである剣道を今後も継続するとともに、「生涯研究」を目標に日々研究スキルの向上という名の鍛錬も続けていきたいと思います。まだまだ未熟ですが、一「所」懸命に精進してまいります。