I'm rather shy around strangers. Other people seem to have different impressions of me. Some say I'm quiet, but others probably think I'm quite talkative. Actually, I have both these sides. Depending on the time and situation, I can be quite aggressive and active. Apparently I look as if my mind is blank, but actually it's not that way at all;in fact, often after I've said something, I start worrying because it wasn't really what I wanted to say.
       Just as I prefer the country to the city, I prefer natural to artificial things.

■Preschool years
       I was born in 1981 in the city of Nagasaki, Nagasaki prefecture. ^※3 I had a big appetite after I was born. Usually newborn babies lose weight slightly, but my weight increased steadily. The doctor apparently told my mother that I was a child with a strong capacity for survival. I was told I slept a lot, didn't fuss, and was easy to take care of.
       I was a quiet child who didn't talk very much. There were plenty of places to play in a natural setting around my house, so I often went out with an insect cage and a butterfly net to collect bugs. I read my encyclopedia of insects until it practically fell apart.

■Elementary school
       When I was in third grade, my father was transferred by his company to a job in Himeji, ^※2 Hyogo prefecture. ^※1 This was a traumatic experience for me. It may be an exaggeration to say that Nagasaki and Himeji are two different cultures, but there were certainly a lot of things I wasn't used to. First, the language —the dialect —was different and I also felt a gap between the kind of people I was used to and the character of the people of Himeji. The environment we lived in was also completely new. In Nagasaki, our house had been surrounded by mikan orchards, so after I got home from school, I would just go out looking for bugs and play in the woods and fields. Although there are parks around our house in Himeji, not many children played outside. Usually they gathered at someone's house to play video games.
       The differences in environment and language left me completely bewildered, and it was pretty difficult to get used to my new surroundings. There were times I felt isolated from my classmates and the people around me.
       In October of the year we moved to Himeji, I fell from high recreational equipment during a school outing, broke my left arm, and had to be hospitalized for two or three weeks. When I was well enough to go back to school, it was arranged that I would study in the school infirmary instead of the regular classroom. During that time I often talked to the school nurse, and she listened to me patiently and was very kind. Then, when fourth grade started, the school nurse was transferred to another school. I couldn't go to the infirmary any more and I didn't want to go to school. I shut myself up at home. My parents worried about me and did their best to take me on outings, to the ocean or to the rivers to fish. During the summer holidays we went on extended vacations and in the winter we went to the Shinshu area where I got my first experience skiing.
       During that period, I found the pets I kept a big comfort. I had a turtle, two cats, and a dog. My menagerie now, by the way, consists of four turtles, three cats, two dogs, and four birds. Along with animals, I also like plants, and I've learned a lot of plant names. Now, too, I like taking care of plants and often stop by the local garden shop to buy a new potted plant or two.

■Junior high school
       When I started junior high school, the students in my classes were all different from before, but I still couldn't get over my reluctance to go to school and I still had trouble fitting in with the other students. Relations with my family members were not so good. For a while I hardly talked to my parents, big brother or younger sister. I ate about once a day, but that was all. I spent most of my days reading books that happened to be around the house. I shut myself up in my room and didn't see anyone. I didn't even have anything to do with my pets.
       Around that time I sensed the expectation of my parents that I would excel, following the model path of getting into a top high school and a university, and then going on to a white collar career at a good company. I really wanted them to understand my position, having been unable to live up to their expectations about the path I should follow. I didn't say that to them right out, however. I didn't think saying it would do anything to resolve the situation. Defiantly, I thought it didn't matter what happened to me. And yet, at the same time, a desire began to grow very gradually in me to lead a normal life and go to school like everyone else.
       Finally I reached the turning point. In October of my third year in junior high, I went to school after a long absence. During English class, the teacher began to tell us about three private high schools located in the prefecture. One of them was Ichikawa High School. In Himeji some people don't have a very good image of private schools:there is tendency to think of them as the places where students go whose grades and test scores are not good enough to get into the public schools. How-ever, listening to the teacher's explanation, I began to think that maybe private schools might have strong points not found in public schools. I knew that a person like myself, with a poor class attendance record in junior high school, would be at a serious disadvantage applying to a public high school, which invariably stresses regular school attendance and class performance. Ichikawa High School had a system according to which they would accept a certain number of students recommended ^※5 by my school. If I could fit the requirements to be recommended, I had a chance of being admitted to Ichikawa even if my confidential report ^※4 was not that favorable. When I realized that possibility, I began to feel a ray of light was shining my way. I thought to myself that this might be my last chance to get on track to a normal education. I went to my teacher right away and told him that I wanted to be considered for a recommendation to Ichikawa High School. The teacher understood my desire very well, and set down the condition I would have to fulfill: I had to start coming to school regularly, starting the next day. When I did start commuting to school, I found my classmates friendly and encouraging. My homeroom teacher also cheered me on, and I convinced myself that "all I have to do is just do it" and I started commuting regularly to school and even attended extra classes at juku (cram school). It all paid off, and I was accepted. My parents were really happy —as was I —when I managed to get into the high school I had chosen myself.

■Entering to Ichikawa High School
       When I started attending Ichikawa High School, I tried my best to act cheerful and friendly so as not to create a bad first impression. I was also determined not to be bullied and made fun of like I had been in my previous schools. I joined the kyudo (Japanese archery) club and I made a lot of friends. I also discovered the challenge of setting a goal for myself and working hard toward that goal. For example, when the kanji proficiency test was to be held two months later, I decided to take it and studied hard to see how good a score I could get. I worked hard and I achieved my goal. Then I set myself another target to strive for. For the first time I began to feel that I was getting through school on my own efforts.
       I also realized that there are a number of paths one can follow. The students who graduate from Ichikawa choose different career paths. Some go to work right after graduating, others go to vocational or technical school, ^※6 and others go to university. I realized that there are more paths than just the one my parents had imagined for me. My perspective on things was broadened and my attitude grew more confident and positive. So far, I have never been late for school or missed a single day.

■Japanese archery club
       I joined kyudo (Japanese archery) club partly because a classmate from the same junior high school suggested we join and partly because I was already interested in kyudo . In third year, I became the head of the club. We have practice for about two hours after classes are over. I now hold the first rank in the kyudo ranking system.
       Kyudo is a martial art, so it is kind of in between a sport and an art. In kyudo , the objective is not just hitting the target with an arrow; it involves learning a set of movements and manners that are to be followed from entering the archery ground to leaving it. It may seem a bit stiff and formal, but I think that this kind of discipline is important. Drawing the bow is the part of the discipline that I love best. When you draw the bow, your mind is completely empty; this moment when my mind is free of all fixed thoughts is the best.
       By sticking with Japanese archery, I developed perseverance and tenacity. Up until then, I had always had trouble following through on something from beginning to end, but having kept up with kyudo for three whole years and having been able to lead the club as its head has given me a lot of confidence. The confidence that I can accomplish something on my own has now helped me to establish a goal for the future. I have set myself the clear goal of becoming a veterinarian.

■About Ichikawa High School
       At first I didn't have a very good image of Ichikawa High School. At the same time, I was also very hopeful that there I would have the chance to lead the normal student life that had not had before. At Ichikawa there are all kinds of students —those who do nothing but study, those who get really involved in club activities, and others who are preoccupied with hobbies of their own. That extremely varied student body overturned all my preconceptions about the school.
       After starting at Ichikawa, I learned that it can be fun to work hard at something. I have served as head of the kyudo club and carried on a normal school life I never imagined I could before. I owe a debt of gratitude to this school because it gave me my chance to start over fresh.

       From the time I was small, I was familiar with the work of a veterinarian. Because I had so many pets, I often had to take them to the vet, and I took a natural interest in the profession of veterinarian. Then, when I learned by watching TV and reading the newspaper that the work of a veterinarian involves treating not just pets but domestic and even wild animals, I became very interested in the work of wild animal protection.
       Where once animals in nature could take care of themselves without any intervention by human beings, the way things are now, many will not survive on their own instincts alone. A bird that has swallowed a lead ball, for example, cannot survive on its own. Only humans can save animals that are hurt and injured as a result of human actions. I would like to help save wild animals like these.
       I have sometimes been able to save the birds my cats caught. Often they could not fly when I rescued them, so I would take care of them. I felt indescribably happy when a bird I had looked after would fly away back to freedom. It seemed to me that I would be really happy if I could become a veterinarian and help cure lots of animals like that.

■My family
       There are five in my family:my parents, my big brother, my younger sister, and myself. We're not a very noisy or exuberant family —we're actually rather quiet. For me, family is just always there. It is like a fact of life;if I did not have a family, I wouldn't know where I belonged. When I was in junior high school, I went through a period when I hardly talked to my parents, but seeing how happy my mother looked when I told her I wanted to go to Ichikawa High School made me feel very happy too. My father is totally absorbed in his work, and I always thought that he wasn't interested in what we kids were doing, but recently, since we started to talk about what I should do after graduation, I learned that he did care a lot. I was really glad to know that too.
       My mother is the one who understands me best. She also loves animals and plants, and because we have those interests in common, we often talk. When I have to decide something, I usually think about the situation and decide by myself, without consulting anyone. Actually, though, I usually pretend to consult with my mother about things. For example, when I decided to take the Step Test (English proficiency test), I mentioned it to my mother, "I'm thinking of taking the English proficiency test." I don't know whether my mother already know that I had decided, but she supported the idea, saying "That sounds like a good idea." So then I knew she approved of my decision.
       When I was in second year of high school, my mother said to me that "We would be happy if you could get into a good school and find a job in a good company." What she said confirmed what I had thought back in junior high school, but since I had already set myself the goal of becoming a veterinarian, I wasn't upset. Rather, I realized that it's perfectly natural for parents to have certain expectations of their children and that it would actually be rather sad if they had no expectations of you at all. I began to understand that I had actually been very fortunate that my parents had high expectations of me.

■My friends
       Friends, for me, are people with whom I can act naturally, without reserve. For example, when I'm feeling depressed about something, I don't have to tell them all about it, I can just enjoy their company and, in the course of having fun with my friends, I eventually get over whatever it was that was bothering me. I often tease others, and I know that whether or not someone can be a friend depends on whether you can tease them knowing they won't misinterpret what you say and that you have a good understanding with them.

■Town where I was born: Nagasaki
       I love everything, without exception or reason, about Nagasaki, the town where I was born. Even now, whenever I see the streets of Nagasaki shown on television or in the news, I feel the urge to go back there. I know, however, that such feelings come from nostalgic memories of the past, and I know that the past is past. Even though I might want to go back there and revel in happy memories of my childhood, the present is more important. I can say that now because I have finally been able to carve a secure place for myself at Ichikawa High School.

■Mother
       When we lived in Nagasaki, it was just natural that Kojiro was a good student and that he was a good and average boy. After we moved to Himeji, regardless of whether he liked his schoolwork or not, when I saw how he rejected school completely, I began to think that what mattered most was whether he was happy and healthy day to day.
       Kojiro is a boy who decides things for himself. He is not particularly clever in navigating through life, but when he decides he likes something, he gets completely absorbed in it. I was genuinely delighted when he was accepted into the high school he had chosen himself. Now I don't worry about him any more.
(See YK-P07.)

■Morisaki-sensei, who took the photographs of Kojiro
       Yoshida-kun is currently absorbed in kyudo, a sport that involves a high degree of mental discipline. I think he deliberately chose kyudo because he recognized that it suited his personality. Yoshida-kun's strong point is that when he faces a problem, he doesn't answer back right away "yes" or "no"; he thinks about it carefully, digests things in his own way and then gives his answer. A person like that is certain to grow and mature into a very solid adult.
       In the kyudo club, new members of the club are expected to treat the older students with correct etiquette, and when you are a senior member of the club you are expected to train and guide the younger students. Wherever you stand, you have to treat human relationships with care. I think he has done very well in grasping the position he is in at the time and adapting himself to that position.
       The three years of high school, they say, are a time of struggle with yourself. It is, in short, the most important part of growth, when a person's identity is established. I am sure that having joined the kyudo club at this time of life and having trained as hard as he has will make a big difference in shaping his future.

■His friends
A "He's a guy who never gets angry with others."
"That's not true. When I get angry, I get angry. But in my case, I go quiet and stop talking when I'm upset."

B "He's a happy kind of guy."
    "Gentle."
"Actually my moods swing like a pendulum. When I get down, I get 'really' down."

C "A high school student who can clearly express his own opinions."
"I don't know about that. It depends on the time and situation, but I think I'm more the indecisive type . . ."

D "As head of the kyudo club, he is trusted by the club members."
   "He's the type nobody dislikes."
 "But once, when we had a quarrel, Sato told me he 'hated me' . . ."

E "He knows how to clearly separate fun-and-games from serious things."
"That's because everybody sees only my serious side . . .They haven't seen my other side yet."

F "He's the kind of high school student you could be proud to introduce to anybody in the world."
"I'm not sure about that. They may not even think I look like a high school student."

※1
●Located in western Honshu bordered by Kyoto and Osaka prefectures to the east, it was the location of the Himeji domain during the Edo period (1603-1867). From the time of the Meiji Restoration (establishment of a new government in Edo), an industrial zone emerged along the coast. The port of Kobe, opened in 1867, was a driving force of Japan's modernization. Pop.: approx. 5,556,000 (2001).

※2
●City in southern Hyogo prefecture, western Honshu. A castle town since the fourteenth century, Himeji is noted for Himeji Castle, completed in 1610. Major industries are electrical machines, food processing, steel, and oil refining. Pop: approx. 479,000 (2001).

※3
●Nagasaki prefecture. Located in northwestern Kyushu. The prefecture is composed of four hilly peninsulas and many offshore islands. Historically it played an important role as a channel through which cultures from abroad entered Japan. During the centuries under the national policy of seclusion in Edo period (1603-1867), Nagasaki was Japan's only window on the Western world. The main industries are manufacturing and fishing as well as tourism. Pop.: approx. 1,512,000 (2001).

※4
●Naishinsho. Confidential record of school performance and conduct during junior high school submitted to high schools to which students apply for admission. Records grades, data on attitudes and conduct, and achievements in extra-curricular activities. Admittance to high school is usually determined on the basis of written examination scores and the content of the naishinsho.

※5
●System for screening applicants for entrance to high school based on recommendation rather than performance on an entrance examination. The criteria of evaluation are a letter from the student's junior high school principal, naishinsho (confidential school report on the student's grades and conduct), interview, short essay, and achievements in extracurricular activities such as sports and club activities.

※6
●Educational institutions that provide training in practical skills and specialized technologies responding to the needs of society. The requirement for admission is graduation from high school. There are senmon gakko for beautician's skills, computer skills, language, social work, nursing and other paramedical care, dressmaking, and many other specialties.

※7
●Himeji Castle. Located in the city of Himeji, the castle is also known as Shirasagi (White Egret) Castle because its height, elegant white-plaster walls, and sleek lines are reminiscent of the egret. In 1993 it was registered by UNESCO for inclusion on its list of World Heritage monuments.

※8
●Shichi-go-san ("Seven-Five-Three") Festival. The custom, observed on November 15, of celebrating the healthy growth of small children. Boys, especially at five years, and girls, especially at three and seven, are dressed in special clothes and taken to the local Shinto shrine to pray for their continued safety and health in the future.

※9
●Mystery writer. He has been an immensely popular writer since his Mikeneko Homuzu no suiri [The Tortoise-shell Detective Cat Holmes] series with a cat protagonist (Kobunsha, 1978) became best sellers.

※10
●Nichiban, also nitchoku. Students who take turns daily taking charge of class tasks and leadership. The nichiban perform such tasks as leading the morning assembly, giving various school announcements, and keeping the class journal.

※11
●The half lotus position. Sitting cross legged, place one foot beneath the opposite thigh, and other foot on top of the other thigh.

※12
●Novel published in 1989 by Shinchosha.