Rope

Ryozo Taki

Secretary General of Tokokai (Athletic Association Mountaineering Club Alumni Association), 1971 Commerce

In Japanese mountain climbing, the German word "Seil" is generally used rather than the English word "rope." Mountain climbing takes many forms, from rigorous mountains that pursue higher and steeper peaks to gentle mountains where one admires fresh greenery or autumn leaves. Seil is primarily used on high-difficulty mountains where climbers aim for the summit by overcoming rock walls and snow ridges. On these difficult mountains, climbers tie themselves together with a Seil. This is to ensure safety in the event a partner falls from a rock or slips on a snow slope, but on the other hand, it also carries the risk of being caught in a partner's accident and losing one's life in the worst case. Tying a Seil together literally puts you in a relationship where you share the same fate, and mutual trust is a prerequisite. Therefore, situations sometimes arise where someone says, "I don't want to tie a Seil with you." In recent extreme climbing, oxygen-free solo ascents are not uncommon even on 8,000-meter peaks in the Himalayas. These climbers refuse to entrust their lives to others, climbing alone with intense individuality backed by high climbing skills and inexhaustible physical strength, but as a result, there are many cases where they lose their lives on the mountain. Regardless of whether it is good or bad, it is sublime.

Shigeki Tashiro

Director of Tashiro Dental Clinic, 1982 Commerce

One stop past Hiyoshi on the Toyoko Line from Shibuya is Tsunashima, a town with the character for "rope" (tuna) in its name. My workplace is close to that Tsunashima Station.

Due to its location adjacent to Hiyoshi, there are the Keio University Tsunashima Student Dormitory and the Tsunashima SST International Student Dormitory. Furthermore, there are residences for Keio University staff, and many students live in apartments other than the student dormitories. When such people happen to learn that I am a Keio University alumni during treatment, they often tell me about the current state of the campus.

The other day, a patient came in who was an international student at the Juku from Africa. She was a woman with a magnificent set of 32 perfectly aligned, pearly white teeth, including wisdom teeth—a sight rarely seen in Japanese people today. Of course, she had no history of dental treatment. Upon examination, I found several deep cavities reaching the nerves in her molars. When I asked the reason, she said that soft Japanese food is truly delicious and that she cannot stop eating the wide variety of sweets. This was a change after only one year of living here. I felt as though I caught a glimpse of the problems in the Japanese diet from the mouth of a single African woman.

Daisuke Nakahara

Senior researcher at Keio Research Institute at SFC, Full-time Lecturer at Teikyo Heisei University, 2014 Graduate School of Media and Governance

In my specialty of programming, there is a technique where character strings are called "Strings," and even more complex versions are called "Rope." Exactly as it sounds, bundling "Strings" (text) results in a "Rope" (a document).

Recently, AI programs such as ChatGPT have been getting smarter and smarter. The principle is a mechanism that processes vast amounts of data at ultra-high speed through permutations and combinations. However, that overly complex logic is becoming difficult for humans to solve (or "untie").

By the way, there is a theorem called the "Infinite Monkey Theorem," which states that if a single monkey keeps hitting a typewriter at random, it could write the works of Shakespeare if given 4.2 x 10 to the 28th power years. This suggests the infinite creativity of humans regarding linguistic expression.

Rather than trying to force ourselves to "untie" AI programs, perhaps humans need the skill to "bundle" them well and turn them into "ropes" that are useful in daily life.

Soji Kanki

Teacher at Keio Yochisha Elementary School

In the third term at Yochisha, the customary "Jump Rope Record Making" event reached its 49th year in 2022. Yochisha students continue to jump from the morning, aiming to pass as many as 32 different techniques of varying difficulty. As a goal for the physical education department, there are assignments for 3rd and 4th graders, and many children struggle considerably, unable to clear them easily. When they finally pass, they gain a very, very large sense of joy.

Jump rope never betrays one's effort and practice. The spirit to face difficult challenges head-on, to pile up effort, and never run away from the hard parts. The courage to continue. Friends who support and encourage each other. And the satisfaction of the successful experience tasted when finally achieving the goal... However, the most noble and important thing acquired through jump rope is likely that the children's hearts become strong and resilient, and they become kind people. The results grasped, the honors obtained, the joy tasted, and the character polished—all of these lie within "practice." What was made possible by "practice" was not just the overcoming of difficult challenges, but the "dignity and grace" of Yochisha students that came naturally through facing jump rope with sincerity.