Report of the 30th JASH Day

 

The 30th JASH Day was held on March 15, 2016. The attendees of this year’s gathering totaled 179, including the RSCJs, Principals of the Sacred Heart schools, and AMASC Members residing in Japan, who graced the event as invited guests.

The program for this year’s JASH Day consisted of the Opening Prayer by Sister Reiko Tanaka, Opening Address by Sister Provincial Mieko Shinjo, Greetings by JASH President Yoko Nakayama, followed by a Lecture, and Activity Reports from JASH’s local Associations and Committees. It ended with the announcement of the change in the members of JASH’s Administrative Team.

 Hoping for additional insight into AMASC’ s theme “Sophie’s Legacy, a Gift for the World”, for the lecture we invited a very young JASH member Yuka Yamauchi (Obayashi 77, Miyashiro 59). The recipient of the Ninth Sakura Scholarship Award from the Sacred Heart University, and currently a Research Fellow of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Yuka Yamauchi is working on her doctorate at Kyoto University. We asked her to speak about her field “the education of girls in France in the 19th century”. In her lecture titled “Convent Boarding Schools in the Education of Girls in France” she spoke about how in post-revolutionary France, the rapid shift in political power and the resulting change in government policies, posed many difficulties for religious societies in managing educational institutions. The story of how despite years of turmoil, the Society of the Sacred Heart was able to establish its educational philosophy which to this day stands firm, and succeeded in crossing borders and spreading to many parts of the world, was so interesting that the audience listened with rapt attention.

For the General Meeting, Chairs of JASH Committees and Presidents of local Associations made their activity reports. The Presidents from faraway Hokkaido and Obayashi flew in or rushed over by Shinkansen to make a presentation on their activities held at their Headquarters. Sharing these reports of local activities is one way for JASH to fulfill its role as the unifying organization of the 8 Sacred Heart Alumnae Associations in Japan.

 Lastly, the members of the Administrative Team took their stand on the stage. To the 4 members who served out their term of office, the audience expressed gratitude with applause for their four years of diligence and dedication. The team for the year 2016, including the 4 new members were then introduced, and the Meeting came to a close.

 In the lobby of the Miyashiro Hall, an exhibit looking back on the 30years of JASH Day was on display, and together with the tea party in the Blue Parlor and the mini-bazaar held in the Green Parlor, added color and warmth to JASH Day. Everywhere members could be seen enjoying reunions, renewing old friendship and sharing past reminiscences, and the scene was a tangible reminder of the words of the Foundress “Sacred Heart is one family”.

Our heartfelt gratitude to all the participants and the many volunteers who made possible this year’s JASH Day.