Another proud achievement was made by students of the Study Program of Japanese Literature (SPJL), Faculty of Cultural Studies (FCS), Universitas Brawijaya (UB). One of the students, Daffa Dzaki Amrullah (Batch 2023), won the Grand Champion award in the Hiroshima University Japanese Essay Writing Competition for Indonesians (First Edition) with the theme “The Future of Japan-Indonesia Relations.”
The competition was organized by Hiroshima University in collaboration with Darma Persada University, as part of the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Japan. The competition was previously successfully held in Vietnam and then, for the first time, held in Indonesia, the country with the second largest number of Japanese language learners in the world, reaching 700,000 people.
With the theme “A Peaceful World Side by Side with Japan”, the essay written by FCS UB students was titled “Toki and Cendrawasih Sing Together: A Peaceful World Side by Side with Japan” (Japanese: 朱鷺とチェンドラワシも一緒に歌っています～日本と歩む平和な世界). In his essay, Daffa says that world peace can start with simple things like songs.
The essay is inspired by the Japanese idol NGT48’s song Sekai no Hito e, which voices the hope of world peace through singing together. The essay also includes the author’s reflection on a viral video on Instagram showing Indonesians singing a Japanese song fluently and joyfully at a Japanese cultural event. The warm response of Japanese netizens to the video reinforces the belief that music is a bridge of peace between nations.
To enrich the message, Daffa likened the harmony through the symbols of the Toki bird from Japan and the Cendrawasih bird from Indonesia, two birds that live separately but can still enliven the world with their beautiful songs from their respective places.
Registration for the competition was open from December 20, 2024, to February 14, 2025. Initially, Daffa hesitated to participate because he was preparing for another competition. However, thanks to the encouragement of his lecturer (sensei), Santi Andayani, M.A., he tried to make the writing process a training ground.
After going through the essay selection stage, he passed the final round and participated in an online interview on February 28, 2025. Despite feeling scared and unprepared, intensive training with Santi Sensei two days before the interview gave him the confidence to reach the final stage.
The award was presented at a ceremony held at the Ministry of Industry Building, Jakarta, on Sunday, March 16, 2025. Fifteen of the best participants and five supervisors were invited directly to attend and give victory speeches.
On that occasion, it was announced that representatives from FCS UB won the Grand Champion by the Rector of Darma Persada University, also known as the 「一等賞ダルマプルサダ大学長賞」. It is a remarkable achievement considering this competition is on a national scale and is attended by Japanese language learning students from all over Indonesia. In addition, Santi Andayani, M.A., was also honored as the best coach.
In his reflection, Daffa revealed that this achievement could not be separated from the full support of lecturers (sensei-gata), friends, and even personal idols from 48 Japanese Groups who inspired him during the writing process. He also expressed his gratitude for this opportunity, which brought valuable experiences, such as meeting Japanese Literature students, lecturers from various universities, and essential figures from Japan and Indonesia.
He closed, hoping to be part of the bridge connecting Indonesia and Japan relations. He invited other Japanese Literature colleagues to be brave enough to work.
“I didn’t expect to get all this just by writing. I want to keep fighting, and hopefully, there will be more friends of the SPJL FCS UB who try to contribute. Because honestly, yesterday was a bit lonely too,” he said with a smile. [dts/PR FCS]
