Hello everyone! We are members of the equestrian studies department at Ritsumeikan University in Japan. During flower-blossoming season around here (which comes in early spring), both banks of the Kamogawa River are lined with cherry blossoms, so we always ride out to admire them.
We have 14 horses and two dogs, and we have a very interesting life. You could say it is a "colorful dog-and-pony show." According to our annual schedule, we are relatively free only from December to early April, because by this time all the competitions are over and the school goes on winter break. So that's the only time we have the opportunity to "slog through winter snows in search of plum blossoms, and ride horses to admire the flowers in early spring."
Ritsumeikan University is located in Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital. For Taiwanese, probably the most famous graduate of our school is [the actress] Kobayashi Ayako. There are currently more than 30 students from Taiwan here. I passed the entrance exam for the school in 1992; I major in equestrian studies. I was the first foreign student ever admitted into this department.
At that time, few of the other students had ever even met a foreigner, and most of their impressions of non-Japanese came from movies. So at first, the women students were very curious about me, and often asked questions that left me laughing, such as "Do you use chopsticks in Taiwan?" or "Is it true that Chinese ghosts don't have lower jaws?"
The male students, on the other hand, perhaps having seen too many gangster films from Hong Kong, had a different initial reaction. When they found out I had served in the front lines at Matsu and can strip and reassemble a rifle with my eyes closed, they immediately associated me with Taiwanese gangsters. They seemed very impressed, and often give me special privileges. For example, I didn't have to take a turn on the night shift at the stable. But eventually, perhaps because I don't look enough like [pop singer and actor] Andy Lau or am not as capable as [martial arts actor] Jet Li, I went from being a cool "underworld figure" to being a "Forrest Gump" who often had mishaps. It is really a case of the good old days being better than the present.
In my entering class in equestrian studies there were 12 students besides myself, the largest entering class ever. We have been through three years of hard training and many competitions, According to tradition, we completed our educations with an appearance at the All-Kansai Summer Event. The glorious traditions of the equestrian studies department will be passed along to incoming young men and women.
For the 13 of us who have ridden together through good times and bad, there will not be many days as bright as these. I will always remember these happy times.
A horse beneath you and flowers by your side--it's a great feeling.
@List.jpg?w=522&h=410&mode=crop&format=webp&quality=80)
@List.jpg?w=522&h=410&mode=crop&format=webp&quality=80)