May 15th, 2023

MUSC Report (2) Students interacted with local neighborhood children at the Japanese Culture Museum.

Seventy-two first-graders and 30 parents from Farwell Elementary in Spokane visited the Japanese Culture Center (JCC) at Mukogawa Women's University of America Campus (MUSC) on May 12 (May 13, JST) to interact with students.

Children dressed in colorful yukata got to have their pictures taken. They chased paper balloons and looked with great interest at the okon (Japanese harp) and Japanese dolls. At a section displaying popular Japanese anime such as Pokemon and Kimestu no Yaiba, the children shouted with joy, "I know Pokemon!"

A mother who was watching her daughter put on a yukata said, "My daughter is very excited. My mother also loves Japanese culture, so I will tell her about this when I get back home."

The JCC is a Japanese culture center established on the campus to introduce Japanese culture to the people of Spokane, where the campus is located, and to deepen mutual understanding. The JCC has Japanese dolls, kimonos, toys, and a display that introduces Nishinomiya City and Mukogawa Women's University, and is frequently visited by elementary and junior high school students from the area.

On this day, as part of a conversation class, students were divided into groups to entertain elementary school students and their parents who visited the JCC. The students took the children one by one to each area, dressing them in yukata and teaching them how to play with the toys. When the children were challenged to sing the "Frog Song" in a circle, they burst into laughter and applause. Afterwards, they spread out sheets on the lawn and enjoyed lunch together.

For the students, this was a great opportunity to use their English skills to interact with different cultures. Ms. Momoe Ueda said, "It was so much fun to meet American children. They asked me if they could hug me. They were very reactive and easy to interact with." Ms. Shizuku Fukuda said, "It was an experience that I would not have had if I had not participated in the study abroad program. I was able to have nice conversations with the children in English."

There is only one week left until the completion of the 4-month study abroad program. On the evening of the event, a barbecue party, campfire, and dance party were held on campus, with many students participating.

May 13th, 2023

MUSC Report (1):  Preparations are underway for the Award Ceremony at the Mukogawa U.S Campus.

The 126 second-year students of the Department of English Language and Culture who have been studying abroad at Mukogawa University's U.S. branch (MUSC) since February 2023 are working on their final classes for the Award Ceremony that will conclude their four-month study abroad program. Here is a report from the local campus, where flowers are in full bloom, on the progress of these students.

On the afternoon of November 11, at the Holy Names Music Center at MUSC, a faculty member was seen playing the piano with the students rhythmically singing along to "It don't mean a thing".

The students' chorus was one of the highlights of the awards ceremony. Mizuki Kamiya, a sophomore, said, "I’m sad to think that the program is coming to an end. I want to enjoy my remaining days with my teachers and my friends at the dormitory”.

Many of the buildings at MUSC were built at the end of the 19th century and are over 100 years old. Students move from class to class in single-story classroom buildings named "MacDonald class building" and "Alcott Hall." On this day, in the Reading class, students earnestly tackled a mini-test in class, and in the Pronunciation class, students presented in English in groups, their lively voices echoing out the windows.

Classes usually last until 4:30 pm. Students frequently go off campus for classes and optional tours to experience life in the U.S. using the English they have learned. On this particular day, about 50 students who volunteered to go to a market in downtown Spokane in the evening took a bus from the school.

The students looked around the stalls as they pleased, speaking English with shopkeepers and buying food and drinks, looking very much at home among the locals and showing their growth over the past four months.

After dinner, the students who remained on campus were divided into dormitory groups and participated in a social with resident assistants (local university students who live with and support the students). They played basketball, card games in their rooms, and other extracurricular activities.



Study abroad at MUSC resumed in the fall semester of September 2022 after a 2.5-year hiatus beginning in spring 2020. The students of English Language and Culture Department participated in the spring semester that began in February 2023, deepening the students' learning of the four skills and cross-cultural understanding while living in the dormitory. The students will return home after completing the entire program at the graduation ceremony on May 19 (May 20, JST).

May 2nd, 2023

Three professors from the School of Architecture and two Kobe City officials, who conducted a survey of the areas affected by the Turkey-Syria earthquake from April 12th to 20th, held a press conference on May 1st at Koshien Kaikan on Mukogawa Women's University's Kamikoshien Campus to report the preliminary results of their survey, with students and graduate students from the School of Architecture also in attendance.

The press conference was held by Kazuhiko Yanagisawa, professor and chair of the Department of Architecture, Shigeki Torisu, and Hiroyuki Tagawa of the Faculty of Architecture, along with Yukio Tanaka, director of the Building Guidance Department of the Kobe City Building and Housing Bureau, and Masayoshi Nose, section chief of the Risk Management Office. In addition, Prof. Mulatu, Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Design at Bahçeşehir University, who accompanied the group on site, participated online.

The group entered Adana Province from Istanbul and proceeded to conduct surveys in Chukurova District, Adana Province; Onikishvat District, Kahramanmaraş District; Antakya District, Hatay District; Samandar District; Iskenderun District; Payas District, and others.

At the press conference, he explained what he had examined based on his expertise while showing photos and videos of the current situation in each city.

Professor Yanagisawa commented on Antakya, which suffered the most damage, "The entire town has been destroyed. Many mosques and churches, which are historical buildings, were also damaged. On the other hand, there were hotels of modern architecture that were not damaged at all." Professor Tagawa showed seismic tremors in three areas and said, "Even in Kahramanmarash, which is close to the epicenter, the measured seismic intensity was about 5.0. Even though the intensity was smaller than that of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, there was significant damage, with exterior walls collapsing as if pushed out and housing complexes suffering pancake crashes. This may be due in part to structural aspects, such as the use of inappropriate reinforcing bars in the pillars," he explained. Professor Torisu said, "The adjacent buildings were in close contact with each other with their walls touching, and this is thought to be the cause of the chessboard collapse. The fact that many piloti-style buildings had stores on the ground floor also contributed to the damage. He suggested that although earthquake resistance standards are comparable to those in Japan, Europe, and the U.S., the buildings may not have been built according to the standards because of unreasonable additions and renovations, and the fact that major collapses actually occurred."

 Professor Yanagisawa then commented, "This time, we are at the stage where we have been able to identify a few structural problems. We need to improve the temporary housing, and from the viewpoint of cultural asset preservation and safety, we need to make the minarets and other structures more earthquake resistant," he said.

Professor Muratz stated that "the fact that not only old buildings but also new mid-rise and high-rise buildings collapsed is also an ethical problem in that standards are not being properly followed," and expressed his enthusiasm for the disaster prevention center planned to be established at Bakhceshir University.

The City of Kobe reported on the exchange of opinions with the affected municipalities. The city of Kobe reported on its exchange of opinions with the affected municipalities. "If Turkey requests, we would like to share with them our knowledge of earthquake retrofitting, seismic isolation technology, and Kobe City's efforts in disaster education and public awareness in elementary and junior high schools in cooperation with Mukogawa Women's University," the report said, adding that the city would provide cooperation and support as requested by each local government and Bakhceshir University.

Prior to this report, the delegation paid a courtesy visit to Kobe City Mayor Kizo Hisamoto on April 26 and reported on the contents of the survey.

April 27th, 2023

On April 26, the University's volleyball team played a practice match against the Philippine’s national volleyball team at the gymnasium. The practice match was part of the national team's tour of the Philippines in Japan. The match was played in four sets with a score of 2-2.

The Philippines’ national team coach George De Britto said, "I felt that the Mukogawa Women's University volleyball team has a strong serve and is tenacious in receiving and picking up strong balls. They also had a fighting spirit, and the match became closer and better with each set. Captain Alaisa Valdez (photo) said, "It was a heated game. Mukogawa Women's University was a very organized team, so it was a good practice match. I was happy to see the welcoming ambience of the event".

Kaho Bessho, captain of the University's volleyball team (4th year, Health and Sports Science Department), said, "I felt that the Philippines team had great height and power, which Kansai universities do not have. It was a valuable experience for us to play against a full representative of our country, and I believe that as a team, we will be able to gain insight and grow through this match.

After the match, the team presented a commemorative gift to the Philippines national team and took a commemorative photo.

April 25th, 2023

The students of Mukogawa Women's University are organizing a fundraising campaign to support the areas affected by the earthquake in Turkey.

Students at Mukogawa Women's University are continuing their fundraising activities on campus to support the areas affected by the Turkey-Syria Earthquake that occurred in February. Since March, students from the School of Architecture, which has close ties with Turkey, have been building a dome on campus to serve as a base of support, hanging thousand folded paper cranes, and asking for donations. The students have been calling for donations at the main campus since April 11th and will be continuing until the 28th.

Mukogawa Women's University signed a general exchange agreement with Bahçeşehir University in Turkey in 2008, and there are inter-university exchanges mainly at the School of Architecture. The Turkish Culture Research Center, located on the Kamikoshien campus, continues to exhibit and conduct research related to Turkish architecture and culture.



In March, a real life sized pavilion was built on the main campus to serve as a base of support. Inside the pavilion, the students decorated paper cranes and placed origami and message cards, urging people to offer their support.

The fundraising campaign is conducted by the General Affairs Committee of the Alumni Association in cooperation with the Brown Rice Volunteers. Donation boxes are held at the Main Campus during lunch break to collect donations. The collected donations will be donated to the "Turkish Embassy" to be used for the support of the affected areas. Chisato Kurita, chairperson of the General Affairs Committee, says, "We would like to make more outreach efforts and further increase our fundraising activities.

At Mukogawa Women's University, three faculty members from the School of Architecture were in Turkey from April 12th to 20th to survey the disaster-stricken areas, and the thousand folded paper cranes containing students' wishes were delivered to Bahçeşehir University by the faculty.

April 25th, 2023

Bento box lunches developed by students of the School of Business Administration with Otowa Deli were commercialized and sold on campus.

The Faculty of Business Administration has been working on an Industry-University collaboration with Otowa DELI, a take-out joint in the practical based learning. 12 students from 1st to 3rd year worked on the production of new products and commercialized three types of bento, which went on sale in April. The "Hanami Bento" was sold at Otowa DELI's Kurakuen branch at the end of March, and on April 11, a limited sale was held at the Main Campus, where a large number of students and faculty queued to purchase. The "Mother's Day Bento" will be pre-sold on campus on May 11th and at Otowa DELI from May 12th-14th. In June, a "healthy and wholesome" themed bento will be made available for sale.

We are also planning to implement the fan building using social media and point cards to create repeat customers, as suggested by the students.