Dalian Tomonkai

About the Dalian Tomonkai

The Dalian Tomonkai was established in 2003 and currently has about 40 members. As Dalian and Japan have historically enjoyed close ties with each other, there are many overseas affiliates of Japanese companies here. Therefore, many of our members are resident representatives. However, there are also many Japanese-speaking Chinese members who were international students at Waseda. And there are also elderly members who have come to Dalian to study Chinese after retirement. Such are the characteristics of Dalian Tomonkai.

Our main activity is holding gatherings; however, we have been holding Keio-Waseda Golf Competitions with our rival, Mitakai since immediately after the Dalian Tomonkai was established. Currently, the competition is being held every year in spring and fall. Furthermore, in 2009 some of the members applied for entry into the long-distance relay race of the Dalian Marathon for the first time, and soon after that, a spinout group called a “provisional racing team” was established. The team not only participates in the relay race almost every year, but also applies for entry into Shanghai Marathon, thus becoming a full-fledged marathon team.

Moreover, since 2013, a Waseda yosakoi (a Japanese folk song originating in the area around Kochi Prefecture) team “Tokyo Hanabi” has been participating in a China-Japan student exchange event, and we are holding a gathering when they are in Dalian for the event.
Seiji Yamazaki (Chief Secretary, Graduated in 1991, School of Science and Engineering)

The attractive points of Dalian

Located in the southernmost part of the Liaodong Peninsula, Dalian is dubbed “Paris in the Orient” or “Northern Pearl” for its beauty. In addition to being a scenic town, it is cool in summer (the daytime highs are below 30 degrees centigrade), is rich in marine products (including sea urchins), and is inhabited with people with mild personality. These are some of the most attractive points of Dalian which cannot be observed in other cities in China.

I think China is one of the countries which are rather difficult to live in for Japanese people. However, Japanese companies began to come to Dalian since the 1990’s, and currently, about 2,000 Japanese companies are in Dalian, and about 6,000 Japanese people live here. It is said that among the approximately 6 million people living in Dalian, 1 % is doing work that involves Japanese institutions or people in some way, and there are many Chinese people who can speak Japanese and relatively many people are familiar with Japan and the Japanese way of doing things. As such, Dalian is probably the most comfortable city in China for Japanese people to live in.

On the other hand, Dalian is a city which has historically gone through a series of tough times throughout the modern and postmodern eras as an important geopolitical foothold. In Lushunkou District, a major battlefield during the Russo-Japanese War (which is a theme of ”Sakano Ueno Kumo”, a long novel by Ryotaro Shiba), there are historical sites including 203 highlands and Port Arthur. In addition, as a result of urban development as former Manchuria, there are still things that remind us of the age of Manchuria including the Dalian station and the streetcars, which are still attracting history lovers.
Daisuke Harashima (Graduated in 2002, School of Education)

Message from the Chairperson

Dalian is a city whose number of people studying Japanese is the highest among the cities in China; and it has also enjoyed close ties with Japan since the beginning of the modern times. After the reform and door-opening of China, Dalian has actively invited Japanese companies to set up their offices here. At present, about 2,000 Japanese companies and individuals are involved in trade, production, education, and other areas here. I am happy to see Tomonkai members playing important roles in such areas.

Alumni in Dalian began organizing activities shortly before the year 2000 (when Dalian was actively inviting companies from abroad). Afterwards, the number of our members started to gradually increase. At present, we are holding events about every three months. We are sharing the burden of organizing each event (including Dalian Marathon and relay race, Keio-Waseda Golf Competition, and joint gatherings for Mitakai and Tomonkai) by assigning different person to be in charge of each event. Dalian Tomonkai is a Tomonkai with strong unity and vitality and with an information network among members which cannot be observed in the alumni associations of other universities. Furthermore, former members come to visit us to renew our old friendship partly because Dalian is fairly close to Japan. Furthermore, Tokyo branch of Dalian Tomonkai was spontaneously established in Tokyo, and is sometimes holding gatherings.
Masahide Takahashi (Graduated in 1970, School of Political Science and Economics)

Messages from the Members

I came to Dalian for a Ph.D. degree in 2010. I happened to start to work as a Japanese language instructor at a university here; I also do some writing including translation; and I am still a student. Before coming to Dalian, I was a newspaper reporter in Fukuoka and other cities, and I had never attended gatherings of Tomonkai, overwhelmed by everyday work. However, the ties between Waseda alumni in Dalian are very strong, and there are also a lot of opportunities to see each other here. As a result, now I fully remember the words to the school song “Miyako no Seihoku”which I almost had forgotten.
Sanae Uragami (Graduated in 1998, School of Political Science and Economics)

Dalian is the place of my third overseas assignment. My first was in Bangkok. As it is a large city and there were eight Waseda alumni including the President within the overseas affiliate, I spent the four years there without becoming a member of the Tomonkai. The next was in Melbourne. Although it is a second largest city in Australia, it is rather a small city and I enjoyed being a member of the Melbourne Tomonkai during my four-year stay there. In Dalian, there are many Japanese companies, and Dalian Tomonkai is not too large or too small, and is a very fun group, where both men and women of all ages gather, including members who are Chinese. I therefore attend almost all of the events organized by the Dalian Tomonkai.
Susumu Koike (Graduated in 1983, School of Commerce)

After going to Japan to study at the Graduate School of Law at Waseda and graduated from it, I returned to my hometown Dalian and started to work in the fields of law and finance. Then I found in a magazine that there is a Tomonkai in Dalian and immediately decided to become a member. Thanks to Dalian Tomonkai, I was able to meet many seniors and juniors and to experience memorable events every time. Dalian Tomonkai is a place where I can remember my prior study abroad experience and I am considering it very important as a place for exchanges between other alumni and myself. I am and will always be proud of the Dalian Tomonkai as an alumnus of Waseda University.
Xin Xiao（Graduated in 2008, Graduate School of Law）

I lived in Beijing for 17 and a half years since 1996 when I came to China from Japan. In 2013, I moved to Dalian because of my work. Although the two cities are within China, I knew almost no one in Dalian. I was worried at first, but the seniors and juniors at the Dalian Tomonkai welcomed me warmly and this made me feel very comfortable. I thought we should be grateful for the fact that Waseda alumni will welcome you warmly wherever you are in the world.
Hiroshi Yanagita (Graduated in 1989, School of Commerce)

Covered in Waseda Gakuho, December 2015 Issue

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