After graduating from junior high school under the former school education system, writer Shusaku Endo took three years before passing an entrance examination for a university. It was a great joy for his father when Endo reported to him, "I passed the entrance exam for Keio."
His father gathered his relatives and said, "With this, a weight has been lifted off my shoulders." The father even served them Western liquor that he kept for a special occasion. He expected Endo to become a doctor, however, Endo had not told his father the truth. "It's not medical school," Endo said. "It's liberal arts." His father turned red with anger and shouted, "Get out!" (This story comes from Endo's "Waga Seishun ni Kui Ari" [I have regrets in my adolescence] published as a Kadokawa Bunko paperback.)
While not at the level of Mr. Korian (Endo's pseudonym) and his father, it seems that recently an era has come when it is difficult for parents and children to agree on a path in life. I read about this in a special feature on entrance exams in The Yomiuri Chukosei Shimbun for junior high and high school students.
Just looking through advertisements for universities, there are many names of departments that didn't exist in the past. Listed in katakana, it's not easy to distinguish whether it's a science or liberal art, and it is also hard to even understand the content of these departments. For that reason, it is said that now it is not unusual for parents and children to visit the "open campus" hands-on events held by many universities. The events peak during the summer vacation period in August.
A Yomiuri reporter who covered such events told me about seeing a student with what looked like the parents and grandfather and grandmother, taking part in the event together as a family. It seems like a serious and happy matter.
(This is a translation of the Henshu Techo column from The Yomiuri Shimbun's Aug. 1 issue.)
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