| With the Iwate region the birthplace of a multitude of exceptional individuals, Iwate Prefecture's natural goal is the continued harvest of nurtured minds that like Dr. Inazo Nitobe, a distinguished forefather from this prefecture, will cultivate their abilities in their fields of specialtyand make contributions to this world of ours. This university is founded upon this hope and you, the students, having entered this institution, carry with you our hope. Professor Yoshio Nishina tells us that "environment creates a person and persons create an environment" and you students are blessed with a truly wonderful environment. Within this environment located in the midst of nature's green splendor and with a view of the Iwate-yama and Himekami-yama mountains in the distance, put away any unnecessary thought and concentrate in thought how you, yourself, as a person want to live life and a way to develop what will become a key factor in a life you live only once, willpower. Along with this continuous effort, an academic skills base needed to attain your pursuits must also be acquired. To the extent it has been said that four years is not enough time, what you will strive for is a difficult and challenging road to traverse. How you spend these four years and how you make use of these four years will have a lifelong effect on you by dictating the level of development of your motivational power, something that will be tremendously difficult to change, and will also set a course for you in life. I believe that each individual has a wonderful natural talent that compares favorably to others. What is most important is how to discover this gift that has been given to you, something that no one else may know about or which you, yourself, may not recognize, and to cultivate this ability. It can be said that this is the description of life for each of us. It is my sincere hope that we will, for the benefit of Iwate Prefecture, Japan and the world, be able to continue to nurture and send forth into the world many enlightened minds that have discovered the spirit of Kenji Miyazawa within themselves or have the academic insights of a Inazo Nitobe or Aikitsu Tanakadate. It is my unending hope that each of you will spend your time at this university, the dawn of your life, effectively improving yourselves through close interaction with your friends and the faculty staff. |