The state falls; the rivers and mountains remain

I went to Kyoto University for a Moonshot meeting. I go to Kyoto for work, but almost never to the university, so the scenery was both changed and unchanged. The apartment where my family lived while I was a graduate student is still there, and even the René bakery is only older; most of the student protest signs are gone, and the diner we used after club practice has closed. That famous women’s university is said to be closing too. There is nowhere to return to once the table-tennis club room is gone. My old part-time job was bought by “Shimajiro,” so that is gone as well.

Still, my mentor and classmates looked well, and talking with people in the same field was enjoyable. Scenery changes, but when I meet a teacher or a classmate the old relation returns at once. That is a good thing.