Hideo Ohashi, Prof. Emeritus

University of Tokyo & Kogakuin University
The Window to Society after Retirement from Engineering Education

　This top page is to transmit the proof that I am still alive and enjoying retired life, mainly to my relatives, friends and former students. A story or an event is selected from daily life and my thoughts and experience are introduced.

　Let's go back 40 years. It was such era that all documents were sent primarily by postal service, and only if urgent, by telegrams or fax machines. Then, email service arrived, allowing documents to be sent as text information from a PC directly to recipients with a single tap on keyboard. It was the dawn of the paperless era, where documents could be instantly delivered to recipients around the world, free of charge. Surprised but immediately I tried it out. Social networking sites like LINE and Instagram have now taken on this role, but email remains as convenient as ever.
　At the University of Tokyo, an internal email service was launched in 1979. In 1984, the Japan University Network (JUNET) service was launched, enabling communication with external parties, including overseas. From 1986 to 1990, I worked as an editor for a book on hydraulic machinery published in the UK, frequently communicating via email with 11 co-authors scattered around the world. Without email, the publication (1991) would likely have been impossible.
　Unfortunately, no records of communication from that time remain. Email software and storage media changed one after another, and with each change, communication records were lost. In 1995, the easy-to-use free software Netscape was released, and its user base skyrocketed. I started using it in 1996. When Netscape's service ended in 2008, I switched to the compatible Thunderbird, which I have continued to use to this day.
　By inheriting the Netscape legacy, my PC keeps a record of 110,000 emails sent and received over the 30 years since 1996, which I can trace back at any time. This does not include spam or emails that I've discarded in the trash. The total storage capacity is 12 GB. When I look back at old emails, time is instantly rewound, and the vivid memories of those times are brought back to life.
　My email address started out as OHASHI@JPNUTDME.BITNET and ohashi%ingram.mech.t.u-tokyo.junet@RELAY.CS.NET when I was at the University of Tokyo, and was later shortened to ohashi@mech.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp. While at Kogakuin University, I used ohashi@cc.kogakuin.ac.jp.
　I also decided to use Nifty's email service (fees apply) for non-work-related personal communications, and in 1990 I began using the address pga02322@nifty.com. This has remained my primary address since I retired. Later I also added the sub-addresses hohashi31@gmail.com and pga02322@yahoo.co.jp. Both are free. I've been using the Nifty address for 36 years. Perhaps because of this, the address became a prime target for spammers. I have been receiving quite a few junk mails every day as I will explain in Part 2.
　The 110,000 emails exchanged over 30 years have been classified and stored in 25 folders. I have on this occasion reclassified them into nine categories.
　 For business-related emails, I categorized the recipient organizations into four categories: University, Academic society, Government agency, and Enterprise. All are domestic. For example, 90% of emails in category University were from and to Kogakuin University, where I worked, but they are shown together with other universities. Academic society include JABEE (Japan Accreditation Board for Engineering Education). In Government agency, the Science Council of Japan accounts for nearly half. Enterprise includes also financial institutions.
　Meeting and publication includes emails related to various conferences, lectures, publications, and their manuscripts. Personal includes non-business-related private correspondence with relatives, friends, acquaintances, former students, etc. Online information includes news, sales, notifications, deliveries, and SNS-related letters. Quantitatively, this accounts for the largest portion. The final category Overseas includes communications with foreign universities and academic societies. The above figure shows the number of email communications by category in a pie chart, allowing you to see at a glance the relative numbers.
　I worked at Kogakuin University for 17 of the past 30 years as president and chairman of the board of trustees. During that time, all business emails exchanged within the university for education, research, and administration are included in the University category. Looking at the chart above, I exchanged more than twice that number of emails with organizations outside the university. This seems to reveal that, in addition to my main job, I was quite devoted to external work requested by government and academic societies.
　Of the 30 years covered by the classification, the first half was during my active career, and the second half after my retirement. The relative size of each category likely changed significantly after I retired. The change would be clear by the analysis which I report in the next Part 2.
　If we calculate the shipping costs for 110,000 emails at the equivalent of 110 yen per envelope, it comes to 12.1 million yen. It's great that this is free, but at the same time, it's also the cause of a deluge of unsolicited emails.
　I was in my mid-50s when email first appeared, and have continued to use it and enjoy all the advances that have come since. I owe it to being born at the right time to be able to use it even in my senior age. I've put together this article to share my experience, and I hope it's helpful.
　In Part 2, I plan to share the results of my analysis of the current state of email.



→ Past Top Pages

　 　"From Daily Life"
　　　　　　 　1: Tracing family roots
　　　　　　 　2: The second last car
　　　　　　 　3: August 15. my memorial day
　　　　　 　　4: Battlefield rations
　　　　　 　　5: Begginer at the gym
　　　　　 　　6: Fuji View Hotel
　　　　　　 　7: Lesson in Hiragana writing by brush
　　　　　 　　8: Moving from old to new smartphone
　　　　　 　　9: Living alone in my second year
　　　　　 　　10: Welcomed by cherry blossom
　　　　　 　　11: Eden of peach blossom
　　　　　 　　12: Tama River Walk
　　　　　 　　13: Chichibu Pilgrimage
　　　　　 　　14: Bonds with local community
　　　　　 　　15: About my homepage
　　　　　 　　16: Annual report of athletic gym
　　　　　 　　17: Pilgrimage to Mt. Tsukuba
　　　　　 　　18: Reunion of alumni and classmates
　　　　　 　　19: Braking by left foot
　　　　　 　　20: Battlefield rations in the sequel
　　　　　 　　21: Granddaughter has come!
　　　　　 　　22: Visit to Kobayashi Residence
　　　　　 　　23: Wake-up exercise
　　　　　 　　24: Digital photo album
　　　　　 　　25: Seven tools for brushing teeth
　　　　　 　　26: Ambulance
　　　　　 　　27: Quick report on drive monitoring
　　　　　 　　28: Hearing aid
　　　　　 　　29: Jindai Botanical Park
　　　　　 　　30: 2020, a historic year
　　　　　 　　31: Topics of eye
　　　　　 　　32: Final report on drive monitoring
　　　　　 　　33: Cognitive ability test
　　　　　 　　34: PCI to prevent heart infarction
　　　　　 　　35: Ashikaga Flower Park
　　　　　 　　36: 90 years old supported by medication
　　　　　 　　37: 3 years with Subaru
　　　　　 　　38: 45 years living in Seijo
　　　　　 　　39: Caspian Sea yogurt
　　　　　 　　40: Home Museum of Aunt Zschäbitz
　　　　　 　　41: Reunion of university classmates
　　　　　 　　42: Okutama spar tour
　　　　　 　　43: New Year's greeting card
　　　　　 　　44: Implant
　　　　　 　　45: Fuchu Forest Park
　　　　　 　　46: Grave closing
　　　　　 　　47: Walking group of local community
　　　　　 　　48: How-to books for the elderly
　　　　　 　　49: Home altar
　　　　　 　　50: Such a life
　　　　　 　　51: Knee of the elderly
　　　　　 　　52: Metropolitan Kinuta Park
　　　　　 　　53: Shirakaba Art Museum of Kiyoharu
　　　　　 　　54: Haiku; Metasequoia
　　　　　 　　55: Three years with COVID-19
　　　　　 　　56: Battlefield rations in the 6th year
　　　　　 　　57: Hearing impairment
　　　　　 　　58: Shinjuku Station
　　　　　 　　59: Haiku with photograph
　　　　　 　　60: Moving to 5G smartphone
　　　　　 　　61: History of private cars
　　　　　 　　62: Setagaya Art Museum
　　　　　 　　63: FreeCell
　　　　　 　　64: Turbo
　　　　　 　　65: Hinata Temple of Yakushi
　　　　　 　　66: Moving of home computer
　　　　　 　　67: Amakusa tour
　　　　　 　　68: Hand craft as a hobby
　　　　　 　　69: Kitami Community Square
　　　　　 　　70: Photo-Haiku 2
　　　　　 　　71: Support scam abusing Trojan Horse
　　　　　 　　72: Bedside gym
　　　　　 　　73: Metropolitan Nogawa Park
　　　　　 　　74: Family funeral
　　　　　 　　75: Sudoku (Number Place)
　　　　　 　　76: Photo-Haiku 3
　　　　　 　　77: Ohyama Afri Shrine
　 　　　　　　78: Kunisaki Peninsula tour
　 　　　　　　79: The old school system is far away
　 　　　　　　80: Cooking group of local community
　 　　　　　　81: Motor fan group of local community
　 　　　　　　82: Directories disappear!
　 　　　　　　83: Tunnel ventilation
　 　　　　　　84: Hearing aid renewal
　 　　　　　　85: Photo-Haiku 4
　 　　　　　　86: Digital records of life
　 　　　　　　87: 80 years after the ceasefire
　 　　　　　　88: Diagnosis of walking ability
　 　　　　　　89: Tracing back in time
　 　　　　　　90: Tour around castles and potteries
　 　　　　　　91: Asset management

　 　"Memorable Scenes"
　 　 　 　 　　Series 1: Parade with Doctor hat on the head
　 　 　 　 　　Series 2: Calligraphy in a frame
　　　　　　　 Series 3: A young man from the Orient
　　　　　　　 Series 4: Sumo-stamping
　　　　　　　 Series 5: Waiting room of Shanghai Station
　　　　　　　 Series 6: Let's Walk Festival
　　　　　　　 Series 7: Last long-distance drive
　 　 　 　 　　Series 8: My Car No. 3
　 　 　 　 　　Series 9: Ski camp
　 　 　 　 　　Series 10: Safari experience
　　　 　　　　Series 11: First encounter with dogwood
　　　 　　　　Series 12: Mt. Fuji

　 　"Treasure Box of Words"
　 　 　 　 　　Series 1: Virtue brings profit
　 　 　 　 　　Series 2: Wait for a ripe moment
　 　 　 　 　　Series 3: Catch the symptoms
　 　 　 　 　　Series 4: Words are selected metaphors
　 　 　 　 　　Series 5: Start with two humans
　 　 　 　 　　Series 6: Optimism is a will, pessimism a mood
　 　 　 　 　　Series 7: Atop a summit, and another becomes visible
　 　 　 　　 　Series 8: We see only what we want to see
　　　　　　　 Series 9: Chanllenge is the privilage of the young
　　　　　　　 Series 10: Today is the first day of my life

　 　 Engineer Series 1: Who's engineer, juveniles' answer
　 　 　 　 　　Series 2: Corus of "We raise engineers!"
　 　 　 　 　　Series 3: From Nobel Prize to Gold Medal
　 　 　 　 　　Series 4: Professionals in three categories
　 　 　 　 　　Series 5: Various tasks in engineering
　 　 　 　 　　Series 6: Classification of EPs by IEA
　 　 　 　 　　Series 7: Science, technology and related professionals
　 　 　 　 　　Series 8: Proposal for the classification of engineers
　 　 　 　 　　Series 9: Revised proposal for the classification of engineers
　 　 　 　 　　Series 1 - 10: Whole Series including summary and remarks

　 　 Cartoon Series 1: Mechanism of viscosity
　 　 　 　 　 Series 2: Mechanism of loss generation
　 　 　 　 　 Series 3: Commuter packer and enthalpy
　 　 　 　 　 Series 4: Skinny grasshopper and fat pupa
　 　 　 　 　 Series 5: From hand-drawn picture to ready-made clip art
　 　 　 　 　 Series 6: Why do you learn? - 1
　 　 　 　 　 Series 7: Why do you learn? - 2
　 　 　 　 　 Series 8: Two Sciences
　 　 　 　 　 Series 9: Scientist and Engineer
　 　 　 　 　 Series 10: Science and Non-science
　　　　　 　 Series 11: Structure of human relations
　　　 　 　　Series 12: Oriental subconsciousness

　 　 Nostalgia Series 1: The first own car
　 　 　 　 　 Series 2: The first driver's license
　 　 　 　 　 Series 3: Comparison of German and Japanese Diploma
　 　 　 　 　 Series 4: The first air travel
　 　 　 　 　 Series 5: Tachometer used 60 years ago
　 　 　 　 　 Series 6: The three sacred calculators
　 　 　 　 　 Series 7: The first home computer
　 　 　 　 　 Series 8: Sentimental journey to Nordkapp
　 　 　 　 　 Series 9: Change of photograph
　 　 　 　 　 Series 10: Story of passport

　 　 The others