The Japanese University you never knew about in the heart of Durham city

Tucked away in between the campuses of Durham lies another university you probably never knew about.

Teikyo University of Durham in Japan was established in 1990 and though it has links with Durham University, it operates separately. Located in the Lafcadio Hearn Cultural Centre, Teikyo University is right next to Durham’s Oriental Museum.

At the centre of the building is a zen garden, with raked stones, a single tree and a stone lantern. Each year, it welcomes around 60 students from Teikyo University in Tokyo, who come for English courses; while university staff aim to “strengthen mutual understanding and friendship with Durham University students and local people.”

This involves outreach work such as visits to local schools, and working with charities in Durham. Home to one of the largest Japanese libraries in the UK, it tends to be a spot that Durham University students come to get away from the stresses of their own courses too.

Librarian Miki Binks says she has noticed an increase in British students using the library as Japanese culture increases in popularity in the UK. She said: “We get so many students who are learning Japanese on a weekly basis, fans of anime, manga and more.”

However, the highlight of the year which gets most people through the doors is the Teikyo Festival in the third week of October, which attracts up to 1,500 guests to the campus. Visitors can enjoy Japanese food, Samurai sword exhibitions, and calligraphy and aikido demonstrations.

Eishu Kosuge, who has been principal of the university for almost three years, said: “The festival is over five days or so, and we get people from all over the North East coming to Teikyo Festival. It’s a very important cultural event for us, and it helps our students to learn about British culture too.”

Andrew Davies became the bursar for Teikyo University after almost four decades in the British Army. He organises events for students and to raise awareness of the university.

He said: “When students are here they do a lot of learning in classrooms but I try to get them out and travelling up and down. While they’re here, they’ll be busy with field trips to London, Paris, Edinburgh, York, Leeds, Whitby, you name it.

“That’s to get them to try and practice and learn language skills. I think in the scheme of things, lots of language students realise English is a very important language and they like to come here for that reason.”

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Teikyo students used to do placements in local hospitals to get used to using English in a professional medical setting. Though that stopped during the pandemic, university bosses are looking to reintroduce that.

However, students can also integrate into the local community with other jobs and voluntary schemes. Scholarship student Waka Kashihara helps out at Durham Cathedral, where she gives tours of the cathedral, counts tickets, and helps out at the reception and gift shop.

She said: “I love the cathedral, it’s one of the most famous landmarks in Durham and most visitors want to go there.”

Waka and friend Hanon Oguri have English language partners which they practice their language with. Hanon said: “She’s like my mum – we were invited to her house and we had a meal, and there was Yorkshire pudding – it’s my favourite thing to eat here!”

Both students miss traditional Japanese food, such as rice and fish; while Waka added: “It is a strong accent in the North East and at times it can be hard to understand and not hear the accent.”

Nevertheless, they have loved their time in Durham and hope to come back – possibly as teachers of Japanese as a foreign language in future.

Helen McAree has been the head of English at the university for 17 years. She said: “I think Japanese students are naturally quite shy initially. It’s really nice to see them arriving then helping them engage and experience British culture here and give them an all round experience. There’s never a dull day here.”

View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/teikyo-university-durham-japanese-students-30648155