November Message from the President

- Tweet0
- 0
- Pin It 0
- 0
- Subscribe to RSS
Subscribe

Subject: November Message from the President

November 2022

Hello Everyone!

In Japan, the temperature difference between mornings and evenings has increased and the fall foliage can be enjoyed even in the cities. The foliage in the photo is a line of gingko trees. This location is close to the Japan National Stadium, which was the main venue for the Tokyo Olympics, and is within walking distance from Rigaku's Tokyo branch. It is a famous street in Japan. People come all day long to take pictures, many of them even standing on the roadway to do so.

Ginkgo is a plant that has existed since the Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago, and is said to be extremely vigorous. Perhaps for this reason, ginkgo has long been used in China and Japan as a cough suppressant and as a remedy for asthma and nocturnal enuresis. Gingko nuts are called “ginnan” in Japanese and they are grilled on skewers or deep-fried. These dishes brighten up the atmosphere around the dinner table. Gingko is a good food for mineral intake because of its high content of lecithin, potassium, carotene, and vitamin C. However, it contains an anti-vitamin B6 substance, which can cause poisoning symptoms similar to vitamin B6 deficiency if too much is eaten. Vitamin B6 deficiency may inhibit the biosynthesis of the neurotransmitter GABA, causing symptoms such as tonic convulsions, so the amount of gingko nuts consumed at once should be limited to ten or less. Food always has both good and bad sides to it, so it seems that we should try to avoid eating too much of the same product.

The history of mankind is much shorter than that of ginkgo, and it seems that people have grown by traveling to new places rather than by settling in one place or remaining firmly attached to an organization, because traveling let them acquire new things and integrate them with their original culture. For example, Marco Polo, born in Venice in the 13th century, began his journey to the east in 1271, when he was 17 years old. Based in the capital of Yuan China at that time (Beijing), Marco Polo traveled over a wide area of Asia. He returned home about 17 years later, bringing to the West various aspects of Chinese culture, which stimulated Western culture and led to the creation of new industries and arts. In particular, the famous book The Travels of Marco Polo is said to have stimulated Westerners' interest in the East and ushered in the Age of Discovery that began with Columbus. The book was written by Rustichello da Pisa, a writer whom Marco Polo met in prison when he was in captivity during the war between Venice and the Republic of Genoa at the age of 42.

Another famous traveler was born 50 years after Marco Polo. The man was Ibn Battuta, who was born in Tangier, Morocco, to a family of Muslim legal scholars. In Islam, the pilgrimage to Mecca is supposed to be made at least once by every Muslim in good health and with practicable financial resources. Ibn Battuta chose the pilgrimage from Morocco to Mecca as his first journey. It seems that the purpose of this pilgrimage was to meet with renowned scholars and prophets from various countries, to learn from their knowledge and ideas, and to develop himself to an even higher level as a legal scholar.

The Islamic world at that time consisted of the Islamic area centered in Mecca, the Western Islamic area around the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean Islamic area with the center in India and Southeast Asia, the Northern Eurasian Islamic area of the former Mongol Empire, and the Chinese Islamic area including Quanzhou in China. The countries along the pilgrimage route were said to have fought each other for power but nevertheless protected travelers on their pilgrimages to Mecca. Bringing travelers safely to Mecca was considered one of the missions of the kings of those countries. Because of this, it is said that, even in the 1300s, various people were connecting and performing activities in the Islamic world, with Mecca and Cairo being the biggest communication hubs.

Most records about these cultural exchanges have not survived; however, The Travels, based on the experiences of Ibn Battuta, provides a realistic picture of the situation and exchanges in the countries of that period. He made a pilgrimage from North Africa to Mecca via Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula, and then traveled through East Africa, Anatolia, and Iran before reaching Delhi, India. There, he served the king for seven years as a Muslim legal scholar, and then visited the Yuan capital as the king's emissary. When he visited, Yuan was in a state of instability and he lost the tribute entrusted to him by the king of India during a bandit attack, so after a short time he returned to Mecca from Yuan by sea via the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean, eventually returning to his birthplace, Tangier, after 25 years. For his next journey, he traveled across the Sahara Desert to West Africa and returned home two years later, at which time he entrusted Ibn Juzayy with the compilation of the account of his journies, for which he dictated his experiences. He died in 1368 or 69.

Ibn Battuta visited about 50 countries, covering a vast area that included not only Mecca but also encompassed the so-called Islamic frontier area, and absorbed and influenced many different cultures throughout his life. His book The Travels was acquired by the National Library of France in 1830 in five manuscripts, which have been used as a copy-text for the reprinted nearly complete edition of his writings. However, it is unfortunate that until then it had remained unknown, even in the Islamic world. Nevertheless, I still think it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this active cultural exchange in the Islamic world of the 14th century ultimately stimulated Europe, which had been feudal and closed, jump-started Renaissance, and, combined with the start of the Age of Discovery, resulted in the awakening of Europe.

This month's focus has been on travel, and I believe that human growth requires meeting a variety of people, exchanging opinions in those encounters, seeing things from the widest possible perspective, deepening mutual understanding, respecting and accepting each other, and finding new possibilities for personal growth and self-improvement. Ever since the coronavirus pandemic started, we often have to decide various things in remote meetings while piecing together the scraps of information scattered over the slides of PowerPoint presentations. I believe it is important to write key events and goals on a single blackboard and then come up with a logical path leading to those goals, and have a face-to-face tumultuous discussion with all parties involved. I think that such an environment for discussion is crucial for making important decisions. In Japanese, there is a saying: “miss the forest for the trees.” It expresses the danger of being so preoccupied with individual trees that we make decisions without looking at the situation and changes in the forest as a whole.

On November 28, Rigaku relocated to its Tokyo office, Rigaku's sales base, to a new location near Shinjuku Station, the largest train station in Japan. Twelve committee members selected from employees around Japan worked on this relocation project, discussing the concept and design, and they also chose the wonderful name “TXP (Tokyo Cross Point).” We expect TXP to be a place where customers, investors, suppliers, and everyone who works at Rigaku can come at any time to meet various people, discuss things, and deepen mutual understanding.

The opening ceremony for TXP will be held on December 6, the anniversary of Rigaku's founding. I sincerely look forward to meeting you all at TXP.

Toshiyuki Ikeda

President & CEO

Rigaku Corporation

Subscribe

Subject: November Message from the President