Episode 4 Encounters

A classmate in the amateur radio circle Electronic Engineering I went to study it on my own

Ehime University, where I entered after an additional year of study, is located just north of Matsuyama Castle. Matsuyama is a place my mother took me to often since I was a child.

I went on to study electrical engineering, but my original interest was in music and electronics. Still, I submitted my application with the thought that it was a good idea since the field was close to my interest. In fact, it was on the day of the entrance ceremony when I learned that the Department of Electronic Engineering was to be newly established in 1969.

I then thought that I can just study on my own, and it was then I learned that in amateur radio circle, you can learn about electronic engineering as well. I thought I couldn’t ask for a better chance as I have been a machine enthusiast since elementary school. So, I soon went to the information session held on Saturday, where about 15 of my classmates were sitting at desks arranged in a square. My eyes were naturally drawn to one of them.

“Oh, she’s a girl in the Department of Electronic Engineering. She is also interested in amateur radio.”

In my engineering classmates, there were only two girls. I had noticed at the entrance ceremony that one of them belonged to the Department of Electronic Engineering, which I had missed out on going.

That day, I decided to go back to the boarding house and then ride my bicycle out to buy textbooks. I went to a used bookstore near the university, thinking it would be cheaper to look for used books first, and there she was again. Electrics and Electronics. The books we were looking for were lined up on a nearby bookshelf.

“We met earlier at the amateur radio circle, didn’t we?”
I recall I have spoken to her without any hesitation. She also remembered me.
“If you’re looking for books that aren’t here, why don’t we go to ‘Haruya’ to buy them together?”
Then, I left my bicycle and walked with her to a bookstore called ‘Haruya’ in the shopping arcade.

This was how I met Hashimoto Hatsuko, who would later become my lifelong companion. She is from Tokushima. I was familiar with Matsuyama, and as I guided her around the city, we soon became close.

In those days, the student movement showed a surge in its final stage. The excitement also spread to Matsuyama, and about a month after we were enrolled, Ehime University was also locked down. One day, when we went to the university to attend classes, we found the gate blocked by randomly arranged desks.

Hatsuko and I soon started seeing each other, but we were always in the company of eight others.
We often went to a coffee shop near the university as we could not attend classes. We would order only one cup of coffee and stayed there from morning to evening. In those days, the student town had the generosity to welcome unwanted customers like us without showing any sign of reluctance. The sound of jazz music played in the coffee shop, and “White Blanco” by Billy BanBan could often be heard. Many of you who spent your student life in the same period may have similar memories.

On July 20, 1969, as I was in my freshman year at university, Apollo 11 successfully landed humans for the first time on the Moon. It was during my summer vacation, and I heard the news while climbing Mt. Ishizuchi with my fellows from the amateur radio circle. My heart was filled with excitement as I thought it would clear the way for a new age.

Come to think of it, at the school festival we performed a play called “Erotic Princess Kaguya”. I wrote the script and Hatsuko was in charge of costumes. Well, its contents are…… I’d better not go into details here.

My four years passed so quickly, and it was time to say farewell to Hatsuko for a brief while. Before that, I would like to touch on her background in the next episode.

The author (on the right) and Hatsuko as students