Kyoto University alumni traditionally wear quirky outfits to their ceremonies, but this student is trying to cosplay as President Zelensky.
Kyoto University in Japan is world-famous for its wonderful tradition of devising the most creative costumes for graduation ceremonies rather than the usual gowns, turning a rigid formal ceremony into a veritable cosplay festival.
bored panda already selected the most interesting outfits From a graduate of Kyoto University. Characters from anime and literature, princesses and superheroes from fairy tales…but a new era calls for new superheroes, and this year’s graduation ceremony was different…
A Kyoto University student recently attended a graduation ceremony dressed as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Image credit: Loho G29i
One of the students, Twitter user @LohoG29iFourth-year students from the School of Integrated Humanities attended the ceremony wearing khaki military pants and a dark green sweatshirt with the Ukrainian emblem. This image depicts Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and is now known to the whole world. .
Image credit: Murzhev
As our hero said in an interview with the local press, about three months ago, when he started growing a beard, someone said he looked like the president of Ukraine. , decided to perform at the graduation ceremony in the image of the 2022 Time Person of the Year. And this appearance was perhaps the most memorable moment of the ceremony in recent years – that’s for sure.
He says he wanted to dress as Zelensky because of his reputation as the manliest president. With humor, his friends revealed that he passed the infamous Kyoto University entrance exam after struggling for his four years. pic.twitter.com/rmMUB5olEk
— Jeffrey J. Hall 🇯🇵🇺🇸 (@mrjeffu) March 25, 2023
The student turned a traditional university cosplay festival into a genuine show of support for Ukraine.
However, one should not think that this performance is just comical. The man presented a poster quoting Volodymyr Zelensky’s famous speech to the US Congress and national slogans. “Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!” Given that the ceremony has traditionally received a lot of media coverage, it turned out to be a truly powerful action in support of Ukraine.
Image credit: Murzhev
“I’ve seen a lot of very positive comments about this on social media,” says David Hajime Kornhauser. Director of International Affairs, Kyoto Universitywho Bored Panda contacted for an interview. went much better than expected.”
Image credit: Murzhev
“The history of cosplay at graduation ceremonies has its roots in the 70s, when universities were the scene of various political and social protests. There are always, some students making political statements, some students making nationally oriented political statements, and I think this is probably one of the sharpest examples we’ve seen in recent years. ‘ continues David.
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Kyoto University has been helping Ukraine since the first weeks of the Russian invasion, offering students a temporary acceptance program.
“Kyoto University Statement in support of Ukrainian students Dating back to last spring. The university has provided temporary hosting programs to students of partner universities in Ukraine to ensure that study and research facilities are provided. With Ukrainians now studying at our university, it is not surprising that the topic of helping Ukraine resonated with Japanese students,” concludes Kornhauser.
Image credit: Loho G29i
Interestingly, the Kyoto native’s performance came just days after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to Kiev, where he and Zelensky discussed further steps in Ukraine-Japan cooperation.No wonder our hero also had a traditional rice spoon rice scoop After all, Kishida gave Zelensky the exact same thing at a private meeting.
Image credit: Loho G29i
According to the author of this performance, it is not appropriate to give a rice spoon to the leader of a country at war, but if Ukrainians like the gift, that’s the main thing. I hope justice will prevail in the end.Glory to Ukraine!” the student muttered after the ceremony.
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Ukrainian netizens expressed their deep gratitude to the Japanese students, as did the Ukrainian ambassador to Japan.
But judging by the number of comments, Ukrainian Twitter users really like this symptom. Japanese students were repeatedly thanked for helping Ukraine, and some even sneered that Russian propaganda would surely tell them that Zelensky’s alter ego had appeared in Japan. The Ukrainian ambassador to Japan, Sergey Korsansky, also stood by and expressed his gratitude.
Image credit: Sergiy Korsansky
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I hope that one day the hero of today’s story will come to an already peaceful Ukraine and, perhaps, as an honored guest, attend the graduation ceremony of the local university. In the meantime, we welcome your comments on this story, so feel free to write them below this post.