Let’s interview Mr. Hamauzu, he had brought up his children when he was graduate student（1）

When we got married, my wife said “You may quit your all part-time jobs.”

I interviewed Professor Shinji Hamauzu (Graduate School of Letters, Department of Ethics and Clinical Philosophy), he had brought up his children some 30 years ago, when he was a doctoral program student. In this time, he told the story about how he became a father and the circumstances of graduate school at that time. （Reporter: KatsuraNoguchi, Translator:Su） 

―――When did you become a father?

Hamauzu: We got married in the same April as I entered a doctoral course in Fukuoka. We loved each other in the summer of prior year of marriage, and 6 months after, we planned to for marriage, thinking “If I don’t decide quickly when I get to think that way, I lose my motivation. So, I’ll decide when I feel like it! I’ll get married to her 6 months after!” lol. We have to prepare for marriage no later than 6 months ago if we hold a wedding ceremony. I prepared for all things while I was writing a master’s thesis, because my wife was in the other prefecture at that time, ha-ha. 

　　We decided to get married, but I did not see if I could enter until later in February. And my wife regarded me as a student who had not written paper yet, as nobody from nowhere, and as an existence that she doesn’t know whether it is promising or not.

　　She also did not see until middle in March if she could return to Fukuoka from the prefecture where she worked at that time. She might not have returned, and I might not enter a doctoral course. Under the circumstances, we were as if we walk a tightrope, ha-ha.

　　We got married at the church because she had ever worked as a teacher in elementary school in Fukuoka and she wanted to invite her students to our ceremony. Only family members attend at Shinto-style wedding ceremony, and attendants pay 10 or 20 thousand yen for a wedding reception, don’t they? It would be impossible for children to join us. However, the church lets “everybody welcome.” I took the class “what marriage is considered as in Christianity” to hold a wedding ceremony at the church, and it helps me.

　　Well, I said “I want to have 4 children” when we talked about marriage. Somehow, I thought that it might be pleasant. My wife is older than me, so I think that we had better have children earlier. The problem was that, it may lead to the core of today’s interview, I still was a graduate student and I got a scholarship which I must return to the university. However, my wife had already worked as an elementary school teacher, so she gained income enough to stand up for herself. We were in the state of that. Our first daughter was born in November of the next year. I had said “I want to have some 4 children,” but it was 8 years later that our second daughter was born. I thoroughly saw that we cannot always give birth to children as desired.

―――Did any graduate students brought up their children around you in university at that time?

Hamauzu: 6 persons enter a master course at the same time. 2 of them enter a doctoral course, and 4 found the other ways en route. The other entered a doctoral course with me, he majored in Ancient Greek Philosophy. He got married 6 months later and soon he had his children. However, his wife did not have any jobs. So, he began to work at the popular cram school, thinking that he must earn by himself. He gradually increased the time of cram school, thinking that he must support his family. Then, he might have been popular. The cram school invited him and he became their own teacher. He failed to do his research, and eventually, he dropped out. But probably, he earns more income at the cram school than me, ha-ha. He failed to become a researcher, but he went to the other prefecture as a teacher and he was assigned to Classical letters. This seems to be remote from “Greek,” but be the same in respect of “old.” He might be interested in the aspect that be remote from modern language.

　　He had his child at the same time as me, but he failed to become a researcher. In other case, my senior had already retired and brought up children by doing part-time jobs.

　　So, I might have been the only one going to the university, bringing up my children, and doing my research. I owed this to my wife. She had already worked and I could do my research. Without this, I would have followed the path that I had to earn, undertook a lot of part-time jobs, and gradually neglected my studies…

　　I already had part-time jobs, because I was a poor student and grew up in a fatherless family. I had difficulty entering college, and what is more, graduate school, lol. Relatives said “You make your son go to graduate school in spite of a fatherless family. What are you going to do?” Well, I got a scholarship and I could enter the graduate school. However, the scholarship of master course was low. It was some 20,000 yen. This was not enough to live my life, so I had part-time jobs.

　　When we got married, my wife said “You may quit your all part-time jobs that you’re doing now.” She chose me because she would not get married to the man who allows her not to retire her job whenever she got married and bore children, ha-ha. She said to me “Quit your jobs and concentrate on your research.” So, I began to live with her, doing my research and bringing up our children.

　　I had been her dependent for 11 years. I had to explain this, going here and there. I explained “My wife is the main person who financially supports the family. I am her dependent because I only get a scholarship.” Well, everybody looked me curiously. However, I didn’t mind that because my wife took into consideration me not to become humble about it. She thought “You are a graduate student now, so you may concentrate on your research anyway.” But, she might have mean “You must earn in the future,” lol.