Advisor Group "Ado Guru" is a unique system at our university that allows interaction between faculty and students. Students choose an advisor (teacher) based on their own interests and concerns, regardless of the campus, faculty/department, or year they belong to, and then form Advisor Group "Ado Guru".

When the university first opened, this was implemented as part of religious activities through the efforts of the missionary Dr. Eckel. It was eventually institutionalized as an activity unique to our university, and many faculty members began to actively serve as advisors, a role that continues to this day.

Many students participate in Advisor Group "Ado Guru" every year, and in 2023, faculty and students will independently plan and organize a wide variety of activities, including Advisor Group "Ado Guru" who enjoy travel, music, and sports, Advisor Group "Ado Guru" who engage in study groups, English conversation, and volunteer activities, and Advisor Group "Ado Guru" Gurus who try their hand at book making (handmade books).

Our university hopes that each and every student will grow not only in terms of academics and research, but also in terms of human development and develop a rich individuality. If you are a student of our university and are interested, you can register in April for the first semester and in September for the second semester, so please come and participate.

Book making (handmade)
[Activity theme] Make your own book (bookbinding, letterpress printing, design, editing)

■ Advisory Group Interview with the Teacher in Charge

Wants to support students as "adults who enjoy their hobbies
College of Education, Psychology and Human Studies Department of Education Associate Professor
Fumie Niwai

[The process of launching "Handmade Book Advisor Group "Ado Guru""]

The theme of this Advisor Group "Ado Guru" is "handmade bookbinding." Using traditional tools such as brushes and folding spatulas, you will create a book from scratch with your own hands. In addition to bookbinding, you will also experience letterpress printing, design, editing, and other tasks, becoming familiar with the various processes involved in bookmaking.

I first became interested in bookbinding when I was working in a junior high school library. Repairing books was the trigger for me to discover the joys of bookbinding and bookbinding. I then held bookbinding experience sessions and other events, which the students enjoyed, so I thought it would be fun to try bookbinding with students at our university. To do this, I decided to first learn bookbinding techniques myself, and completed a 10-session basic course at the Bookmaking School run by Misuzudo, a bookbindery in Ina City, Nagano Prefecture.

At the same time, I learned about the joys of Advisor Group "Ado Guru" from Professor Toru Yokoyama, who is in charge of the long-established "Yokoyama Advisor Group "Ado Guru"." I heard that the students at Yokoyama Advisor Group "Ado Guru", which focuses on pottery, are always very lively, so I decided to start Advisor Group "Ado Guru" with a bookbinding theme.

[Characteristics of Advisor Group "Ado Guru" from the viewpoint of the teacher in charge]

This is an experience I had when I was working at a junior high school, but it seems that students perceive teachers who have hobbies as more human. By creating spaces outside of class together, it seems that human bonds and relationships of trust are born between teachers and students. At Advisor Group "Ado Guru", I also want to show students the example of "adults who enjoy their hobbies." By seeing adults absorbed in something other than work, they may be able to broaden the scope of their lives through their own hobbies after they enter society. I think Advisor Group "Ado Guru" is a place where such a message can be conveyed.

Another advantage of Advisor Group "Ado Guru" is that there are no grading systems like in classes. Another benefit is that you can meet friends who share your interests, regardless of department or year.

[Advisor Group "Ado Guru" activities]

There are currently 35 registered members of our Advisor Group "Ado Guru". The students gathered around the theme of "books," but their interests are diverse. Some students just love paper books and want to talk with their peers about the world of books, while others are aiming to work in the publishing industry in the future. I myself met people with various book-related professions at the Bookmaking School and was able to hear some very interesting stories. Our Advisor Group "Ado Guru" also plans to hold training camps at bookbinding studios, various tours, and social gatherings with experts, so that students can have a variety of encounters.

My main activities are bookbinding workshops. At first, we use ready-made bookbinding kits, so even beginners can complete a book in one session. There are variations such as "square spine," "round spine," and "Japanese binding," and you can also have fun customizing the cover and paper for the main text. Ultimately, it would be fun to prepare your own manuscript and create a one-of-a-kind book.

Although this Advisor Group "Ado Guru" has just started, as the number of meetings increases, an atmosphere in which students can teach each other and exchange ideas will surely emerge. As the teacher in charge, I will focus on creating an active space, and I hope that participants will encounter a rich world mediated by "books."

■ Interviews with students participating in the advisory group

Pottery and bookbinding. Advisor Group "Ado Guru" unique atmosphere makes student life more enjoyable
4th year, Department of Japanese College of Literature Department of Japanese Language and Literature
Keiichiro Matsui

For me, the biggest attraction of Advisor Group "Ado Guru" is that "teachers and students can enjoy activities together." Until then, I had a somewhat unapproachable image of "teachers." However, in Advisor Group "Ado Guru", where participants share the same hobby, a unique sense of solidarity is born between participants, and it seems to be a community with a fun atmosphere that cannot be experienced anywhere else.

I also think that one of the attractions of Advisor Group "Ado Guru" is that it creates communication that transcends grades and faculties. I felt this strongly when I participated in Professor Yokoyama Toru's Ceramic Art Advisor Group "Ado Guru". With a history of over 30 years, Yokoyama Advisor Group "Ado Guru" has many opportunities to interact with alumni who admire the professor, and the first and 30th class students sometimes had fun eating together.

Yokoyama Advisor Group "Ado Guru" managed the art room, so Advisor Group "Ado Guru" participants could visit the room during free time between classes and study while enjoying pottery. I think that being able to freely move between the two worlds of study and hobbies enriched my student life.

Advisor Group "Ado Guru" are similar to clubs and circles in that they are a place for hobbies. However, while clubs and circles have the fun of being student-centered, Advisor Group "Ado Guru" create communities centered around teachers, and sometimes, like Yokoyama Advisor Group "Ado Guru" there is the fun of interacting across generations.

With the retirement of Professor Yokoyama, Yokoyama Advisor Group "Ado Guru" came to an end, so I joined Professor Niwai Fumie's Advisor Group "Ado Guru", which focuses on bookbinding. At Niwai Advisor Group "Ado Guru", books are made by hand from scratch. I like "paper books," so I was deeply moved when I made with my own hands a hardcover book like the ones I always pick up at bookstores. With the careful guidance of the professor, I was able to make the book very enjoyably.

I am enrolled in Department of Japanese Language and Literature, and I am currently learning about bookbinding techniques and paper in class. I am looking forward to linking my specialized studies with the activities of Advisor Group "Ado Guru" and deepening my understanding even further.

In addition to pottery activities, Yokoyama Advisor Group "Ado Guru" also solicited ideas for events and went to fireworks festivals and theme parks together. Niwai Advisor Group "Ado Guru" has just been established, so I think it will be fun to create our own unique community together. If there are students who are interested in books, I would be happy to work with them.

Urban Farming, Community Farm
[Activity theme] Grow vegetables in the heart of Sibuya!

■ Advisory Group Interview with the Teacher in Charge

Enjoy growing vegetables easily while thinking about the natural environment
Civic Engagement Center Assistant/Coordinator
Aki Sato

Our Advisor Group "Ado Guru" enjoys urban farming (growing vegetables in the city) with the theme of "Let's grow vegetables in the heart of Sibuya!"

They usually work at Aoyama Campus. They plant arugula, mini tomatoes, radishes, and other vegetables in a small vegetable garden on campus, and meet up at lunchtime to water and weed the plants. They also visit an external farm in Ebisu (a joint project between the NPO Urban Farmers Club and Sapporo Real Estate Development Co., Ltd.) and participate in farming events.

There are 14 members participating in the first half of this fiscal year. The group is diverse, ranging from first-year university students to graduate students. Most of the members are beginners to farming, but some already have a wealth of knowledge, and the circle of communication is expanding every day. They also use social media to share information about the growth status of vegetables.

I work at the Civic Engagement Center at our university, and am also involved in volunteer activities related to environmental conservation. Through this initiative, I came across the Urban Farmers Club, which has a vegetable garden in the Ebisu area, and I thought to myself, "I would love to try growing vegetables from the perspective of greening the city." I immediately applied for a one-year farming course consisting of 12 lessons, and after learning the course myself, I thought, "I want students to enjoy growing vegetables casually, too," and so I started Advisor Group "Ado Guru". In the future, I hope to expand the scope of these activities as a local community.

Our Advisor Group "Ado Guru" is committed to natural farming methods that do not use pesticides or chemical fertilizers. For example, all the fertilizer we use in the vegetable gardens on campus is made from composted food waste from my kitchen. In order to protect the natural environment, it is important for each individual to create a small circulation loop in their daily lives. We hope that Advisor Group "Ado Guru" 's participants will take action to protect the environment while enjoying growing the vegetables that are close to home.

As they are committed to natural farming methods, their crops are also infested with insects. Last year, the crops they were growing at the farm in Ebisu were eaten by rats. However, it is said that the redevelopment around Sibuya Station may be the reason behind the rat population's proliferation. While the eating damage itself was unfortunate, it was also an opportunity for everyone to think about the impact that artificial environmental changes have on nature.

As we are still a new Advisor Group "Ado Guru", we would like to plan various events together with the students. In May, we all participated in a farming event held at a farm in Ebisu, and everyone had a great time. Also, when we planted micro-cherry tomato seedlings in the on-campus vegetable garden the other day, some students expressed their desire to try picking blueberries and other fruits. We would like to continue to combine daily activities on campus with off-campus field trips and engage in agricultural and environmental issues while having fun together.

English Conversation, Global
[Activity theme] Enjoy global activities!

■ Advisory Group: From the teacher in charge

Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics College of Science and Engineering
Jun Yoneyama

The main goal of the program is to develop an international perspective that will allow students to play an active role overseas in the future, and students will study practical English. Students will also aim to acquire foreign cultures and customs. The younger you are, the easier it is to learn a language, so now is the perfect chance to learn it! (I spent my student days in Los Angeles, USA, and stayed there for a year for research activities five years ago.)