Last August 3rd to 7th, I joined the Meaningful Life class trip to the remote island of Sado. Located off the coast of Niigata, Sado Island is renowned for being home to numerous bird species, including the crested ibis. Moreover, it’s also known for its Edo-period gold and silver mines and tub boats. However, for our fieldwork, we went further north of the island to the small coastal village of Kitaushima. Sado Island Through My Own Lens Traveling to Kitaushima took around s

As a part of Sophia University’s commitment toward sustainable studies, professors at the Faculty of Liberal Arts meticulously craft courses that enlighten students with new issues, approaches, and solutions. Meaningful Life: Art, Digital, and Field-Based Learning, taught by Professors Takeshi Ito and John Williams is no exception. At the heart of this course lay two trips: to Kyoto’s Ashiu forest and Sado’s Kitaushima. This essay reflects on the latter, in an attempt to chal

Meaningful Life field trip: Grasshoppers resting on a leaf after rainfall (June 2025). Credit: Sophia Kisa Eaton During my spring...

Students exploring Ashiu Forest (June 2025; credit: Mana Short) From July 13 to 15, I had the privilege of visiting a remote village in...

As the Autumn 2024–25 Semester came to a close, we gathered on January 20th to harvest the lettuce and herbs we had grown with care over...

Building on the success of the first Meaningful Life class offered in the Autumn Semester of 2023, a second class was held in the spring...

As the world increasingly shifts toward volatility and uncertainty — from the rise of AI to escalating social, political, and global...

Nestled in the Tama Hills of southwestern Tokyo, surrounded by groves of trees, lies Keisen University’s Education Farm—a 0.7-hectare...

On October 14, members of KASA Sustainability, the Environmental Politics of Agriculture class of Autumn 2024, and Sophia alumni and...

This is part of a series of blog posts and videos exploring how we can design sustainable food systems. Food production for human...

This is part of a series of blog posts and videos exploring how we can design sustainable food systems. The following video features an...

This is part of a series of blog posts and videos exploring how we can design sustainable food systems. Food production for human...

This is part of a series of blog posts and videos exploring how we can design sustainable food systems. Food production for human...

"Meaningful Life: Art, Digital, and Field-based Learning," or “Nanairo no Jinsei,” in Japanese is a new course in the Faculty of Liberal...

"Meaningful Life: Art, Digital, and Field-based Learning," or “Nanairo no Jinsei” in Japanese, is a new course in the Faculty of Liberal...

Human Ecology: Rivers (HER) is a summer practicum course offered jointly by Sophia University’s Faculty of Liberal Arts and Graduate...

伊藤毅　KASA Sustainability ヘルシーで栄養価の高い十分な食料は、人間の身体・精神の健康と生物圏の持続可能性に密接にかかわっています。しかし、現在のフードシステムには目標達成に必要なものが備わっ ているのでしょうか。現状では目標を達成することはできていませ...

Co-written by Beatrice Melo, Brex Arevallo, Michelle Sta. Romana, Nico Mira, Sinwa Naw, and Takeshi Ito On June 16, 2022, KASA...

Takeshi Ito, KASA Sustainability Healthy, nutritious, and sufficient food is closely linked to human well-being and the biosphere’s...

Writer: Nico Mira, KASA Sustainability Translation: Uno Daito, KASA Sustainability 2022年3月15日、上智大学はチュラロンコン大学の社会開発研究センター（CSDS）とともに、「環境オフショ...