On July 2, the anniversary of the death of Shigeo Hasegawa, founder and first president of Kyoto Computer Gakuin (KCG), the KCG Group delivered the commemorative lecture "Shigeo Hasegawa, First President of KCG and Kyoto University: Searching for the Origin of Ideas" online, and students and faculty listened to the lecture in their respective locations to remember the legacy of a pioneer in information technology education.On this day every year, the KCG Group holds various commemorative events on campus, including a visit to the gravesite at Hyakumanben Chionji Temple, the family temple. This year, however, only the commemorative lecture was held in cyberspace to prevent the transmission of the new coronavirus.
Dr. Shigeo Hasegawa passed away on July 2, 1986 at the age of 56, and 2021 will mark the 35th anniversary of his death.Kando" is his stage name, meaning "a quiet space for meditation away from the world.
The commemorative lecture was given by Dr. Tomoko Tanaka, Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University, and part-time lecturer at the Kyoto Institute of Information Science.In September 1949, Dr. Shigeo Hasegawa entered Kyoto University as the first student of the new university system, and this is where he met Yasuko Hasegawa, the current president of KCG.Dr. Tanaka said, "I entered the school after Dr. Shigeo Hasegawa graduated, and I have never met him," but he added, "I was his immediate junior during his college days (...).I would like to explore historically the days of Mr. Hasegawa, who was about the same age as you (the students), to find the origin of the philosophy of the school that you also study," he said, explaining in detail what kind of culture was being nurtured at Kyoto University at that time under the historical background after the defeat in the war and the relationship between the young Mr. Shigeo Hasegawa's experience and KCG's philosophy.
In his lecture, Dr. Tanaka said, "What I think is characteristic of Kyoto University's relationship with KCG is that (even after the graduation of Dr. Shigeo Hasegawa and Dr. Yasuko Hasegawa, the current president of KCG), they remained connected with the younger generation of students and graduate students at Kyoto University," and expressed his feeling that "Kyoto University is surrounded by KCG.I think that KCG is a place where Professor Shigeo Hasegawa has embodied the culture he gained at Kyoto University and where he can freely develop what he has learned," he said.