News and Topics

2025.06.13

On June 13, Ambassador of Croatia H.E. Dražen Hrastić visited Kwansei Gakuin University and had a productive conversation with President Yasutoshi Mori about further collaboration between Croatian universities and KGU. During their lively conversation, President Mori saluted the efforts of Ambassador Hrastić during his diplomatic career to ensure lasting peace in Europe, as well as his contributions to promoting European security and stability. They discussed the fact that Croatia and KGU have a musical connection that dates back decades - specifically, the ending song of the KG Glee Club’s concert has been “U Boj, U Boj,” a patriotic Croatian song, for many years. Six years ago, for the Glee Club's 120th anniversary festival, Ambassador Hrastić visited the Nishinomiya Uegahara Campus, and this was his first visit since that event. When speaking about KGU’s current partnership agreement with the University of Split in Croatia, Ambassador Hrastić noted that while the shared bond of music is a powerful one, there are many opportunities for more in-depth cooperation. They touched on proposals for future student and faculty exchanges, as well as opportunities for research collaboration and guest lectures on topics such as global security policy. After his meeting with President Mori, Ambassador Hrastić toured the campus before he was welcomed by the Glee Club for a special performance at the Bates Chapel.

The Glee Club performed several songs, including the school anthem Sora no Tsubasa, before concluding with a hearty rendition of U Boj, U Boj. University Chaplain and Advisor to the Glee Club, Kiyoshi Mineshige, greeted Ambassador Hrastić, reminiscing about the Ambassador’s last visit and expressing his delight that the Ambassador had remembered the Glee Club and KGU itself. He noted that more than a hundred years ago, by chance, a group of Czechoslovakian soldiers taught the song "U Boj, U Boj" to the KG Glee Club, and that this seemingly random happenstance must have been destiny. The song, which is originally from the opera “Nikola Šubić Zrinski” and was first performed in 1876, is now performed by male choral groups all over Japan. He expressed his hope that the KG Glee Club would forge an even deeper connection with Croatia, before Ambassador Hrastić bid the group a warm farewell and invited Kwansei Gakuin members to come and visit the Croatia booth at the Osaka Expo.