Schools

Up until Junior High School schools are almost exclusively public (less than 5% are privately owned and run). Until Junior High School, students study at the school nearest to their home. The area around each school is called a catchment area; senior high schools have overlapping catchment areas, so this means that there is competition among schools for the best students in a particular area. Students likewise compete with each other for placement in teh best schools. Over 25% of senior high schools are private, which is an indicator of the extent of the competition in the higher levels of Japanese schooling: parents will pay substantial amounts for their children's continued educations.

While generally speaking, this has resulted in some of the highest standards of education in the world, some claim that the attendant stresses have lead to an increase in psychological problems among children and there is a very high suicide rate among high school students.

School year

The Japanese school year starts in April and consists of three terms, separated by short holidays in spring and winter, and a one month long summer break. It's common for students to be assigned homework over these breaks in the year.

The school day (for junior high kids) starts at 8:30 am. Students will walk, ride bikes or take buses or trains to get to school. Even on the way to school the students are expected to behave in a way which will not bring any disrespect for their school. Students wear uniforms, so the particular school they attend can be determined from what uniform they are wearing as different schools will have different uniforms. Students will go to a homeroom class for the taking of attendance and any announcements that have to be given. Due to clubs, the students are freequently still at school until late in the evening.

School Subjects

Japanese children study much the same subjects as other kids. Math, reading, writing, computers, science, history, physical education, art, and music. Calligraphy is also taught (at least it was at Kurohone) as is English. Some schools may offer French and other foreign alnguages, but that varies from school to school.

Classroom and grades

The classroom in Japan is a very different place. To start with, students don't change classes. they stay in the same classroom while the teachers rotate. The biggest exception to this that I've seen was (as usual) at Kurohone Chugakkou where the students came to the English room for their lessons rather than the English teacher going to their homeroom. Other exceptions include classes like music, gym, art, and computers, classes that are highly specialized and hae a certain set up required in order to teach them. This was the case with English at Kurochu. The English room was set up specifically to meet the needs of the student population. There was no Japanese in that classroom at all.

Students will also mostly eat lunch in their classoom as well, though in many schools they're permitted to eat wherever. In anime and popular Japanese television shows, we often see loner students eating on the roof.

As a note, some schools provide lunch for their students for a monthly fee. The Kurohone schools were like that. As a result, the students were required to remain in their classrooms to eat their meals. The meal was served to the students by the students and included a wide variety of menu items such as curry, spaghetti, make your own sushi (temakizushi), potatoe platter (potatoe and bacon), ramen, some sort of noodle stew. The dishes were pakced up and sent back to the place the food came from (I think; I don't recall ever seeing the kids washing teh dishes). Milk was almost always served with the lunches. You got your lunch and sat down. Students always clustered desks together to form groups. Once you had your lunch, you sat down and then waited for the designated student (a new one each day) did the 'itedakimasu' speech. then everyone would say 'itedakimasu' and then you could eat.

A question I was asked was regarding the grade labeling system and whether or not it was the same as that in Western schools. It's not. A seventh grader wouldn't say he or she was in grade 7. They would say that they were a 1st year junior high student. In Japanese he or she would say that they were a Chugakkou ichinensei. You list your grade by what level of education you're in - whether it be elementary, junior high, high school, or university - and what year you're presently in. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 etc.

In schools with a large student population, the grade levels are divided into smaller classes that are listed with western alphabet letters. Example: Class 1-A, 1-B, etc depending on how large the student population is. Each class has its own class representative or president. Each kumi (also said as gumi) or class has one or two students who are responsible for checking to see if the teacher needs help carrying something and to formally ask them to teach the class.

At the end of the school day o shoji, or the cleaning of the school is done. Students will clean the classroom, clean the restrooms and pick up trash. This helps to give the students more of a personal stake in taking care of their schools. (Expecting students to clean classrooms in U.S. schools would be considered a violation of the students rights.)

Students are responsible for keeping the school clean. They all take turns cleaning their classrooms and the hallways and such. Sometimes this happens after school, but the Kurohone elementary and junior high kids often did their cleaning at lunch time.

Club Activities

Pretty much every junior high and high school has after school clubs (as seen in most anime). Theoretically run by teachers, many of the clubs are actually run by the students themselves. Students are usually allowed to join only one club and will stay in that club through the rest of their time in secondary school. Naturally, some exceptions are made, but mostly they remain in the same club. The clubs are of two types: one is sports and the other culture. Sports clubs can include clubs for baseball, soccer, judo, track, tennis, ping pong (or table tennis), volleyball and a wide variety of other sports. Culture clubs include clubs in broadcasting, calligraphy, English, science and math.

The only school I was familiar with had compulsory club activities. Before you go all *gasp**shock**horror* on me, please bear in mind that Kurohonemura (the village of Kurohone which, by the way, no longer exists) had about 3000 people in it. It was small. So to keep the kids busy, clubs were compulsory. There was baseball, ping pong, volley ball, and kendo. Strangely, the ping pong kids were the popular ones. It also had the largest number of students in it. There are a wide range of possible school clubs.

A major factor in these clubs is the development of a social/cultural status association with other students. Students who are older are referred to as senpai, while the younger students are referred to as kohai. Each type has its own responsibilities. Senpai help kohai to adjust to the clubs and teach them what they need to know to do well in the clubs; the kohai defer to the senpai. In tennis, for example, kohai will be the ones chasing the balls on the courts while the senpai play tennis. The kohai also are expected to model the behavior of the senpai. This type of kohai/senpai relationship can continue well after the school years are finished and similar things will be seen in politics and business.

Kindergarten (Yochien)

Age group: 5

Kinderdarten is optional, but many parents choose to send their children there. In fact, well over half of the Japanese children start thie reducation at an earlier age thatn they're required to.

Elementary School (Shogakkou)

Age group: 6-12

This is the first stage of compulsory education for Japanese children. Almost all Japanese children enter at this stage, although an increasing number have already experienced kindergarten. Since uniforms are standard in Japan, they are seen wearing bright yellow baseball hats, bright yellow umbrellas, bright yellow raincoats, etc.

My personal expirience with elementary schools hasn't included uniforms, however. In smaller towns such as the one I lived in, uniforms aren't compulsory as they are in larger cities such as Tokyo.

Junior High School (Chugakkou)

Age group: 12-15

Tthis is a hugely important phase in the upbringing of the Japanese child. Results at Junior High School can determine their entrance into a good Senior High School and hence to a good university and career. At this point children usually stay late at school, busy with various clubs and activities as well as studies at a Juku (see below).

I have never seen a junior high sctudent wtihout a uniform of some kind. The one I lived near in Japan had two uniforms: the more typical uniform (in this case consisting of black pleated skirts, cheap jackets and a white blouse for the girls and the typical boy's uniform that you see everywhere in anime) and a track suit style gym uniform (the students at Kurohoone Chugakkou prefered this one to the black uniform). The track suits were grade level color coded (blue, green, and this weird reddish pink). They got one color when they entered the school and it stayed with them for three years. The new class of 1st years gets the same color uniform that the previoius year's graduating class wore. so if the graduating class had the green track suit, you as a 1st year would get a green track suit.

High School (Koukou; koukougakkou)

Age group: 15-18

Entrance to senior high school is dictated by the results of an entrance exam. Preparation for the exam itself, of course, is usually through attending a good Juku (see below). To get a place at the best university means that a student really needs to go to the right senior high school, so the entrance exam can have a major impact on the future career of Japanese students. As the number of private schools increases and pressure to perform well increases, education ends up costing parents more and more. This pressure is slowly diffusing down the chain as entry to the best senior high schools is increasingly affected by the junior high school attended and so on and so forth. Hoigh school isn't mandatory, but most students do attend.

Part-time High school

In some cases, where students are already working full time after graduating from junior high, they may attend evening school instead of normal high school. These classes take four years to complete rather than the usual three years. Classes usually run until after 9pm or later, so this makes for a busy lifestyle for the working student. Compared to the average senior high school student, students at part-time high school tend to be far more socially mature and attentive students - also perhaps as attending a night school is generally a voluntary action and commitment is needed to complete the program, whereas attending Senior High School is often a matter of parental pressure.

Juku (Cram schools)

The pressure of the education system in Japan is great, and so much of a child's future depends on going to the right school and university that from a very young age. In some cases, there are students as young as ten years of age attending cram school. After going to their music lessons, after school clubs and the like, children also attend cram schools called "Juku". These have extra lessons, which may be used to push bright students further or to help slower students catch up to the crowd. The classes may run until late, and a 12-hour day is not unusual for the Japanese high school student. As a note, that's before they even get to their assigned homework.

Juku are a common feature of Japanese education, and if you are a parent living in Japan can be a useful supplement to ensure that your child catches up to the rest of their class in Japanese language abilities.

Like with regular schools, some juku are more prestigious than others and most cater to different levels of student need.

University (Daigaku)

Japan has a large system of private and public universities; however, the number of foreign students studying in Japan is very low proportionally. The most prestigious universities are the national University of Tokyo and University of Kyoto, followed by the best private universities.

Japanese universities offer four year undergraduate programs, followed by two-year master's programs and finally three-year doctorates (or a combined five-year Master's/Doctoral program). If you have just completed an undergraduate course in a foreign university system such as the UK where you continue from a three-year undergraduate program directly to a three-year doctoral program, whether you are able to apply directly for the Japanese doctoral course will depend entirely on the university in Japan and on the standard of your academic record. Generally you will have to complete a two year Master's program first.

Japan has many universities, but the number of programs offered in foreign languages (i.e. programs offered in English) is limited, meaning that if you intend to study in Japan you will probably need to learn Japanese. Some programs, particularly for recipients of the Monbukagakusho (Ministry of Education) scholarships, come with a preparatory six-month period studying the language full time. However, unless you are already quite proficient at Japanese, six months is not sufficient to master the language - see the language page for more details.

Japanese Teachers

Japanese teachers have either an Advanced, first- or second-class teaching certificate. Teachers are encouraged to work towards higher level qualifications by engaging in ongoing training. On completion of training, teachers in elementary and junior schools with a bachelor's degree are awarded a first-class teaching certificate, and those with a junior college certificate are awarded the second-class certificate. At senior high schools, teachers with a Master's degree are awarded a first-class teaching certificate, and those with a Bachelor's degree the second-class certificate.

After obtaining the teaching certificate, the final hurdle for a teacher at a public school is to pass an examination set by the prefecture to be appointed a teacher. Once this examination has been passed the teacher may work in any school in that prefecture. However, the license is only valid for one year and if they fail to find employment in that one year, they have to take the exam again. If applying for a position at a private school, the school will set their own requirements for employment.

Teachers in Japan teach for a maximum of five years at one schoo. Most of the time, they remain within the prefecture. If a teacher moves to another prefecture, then they could get a job there, but the standard rotation is within their home prefecture. It's not uncommon for a teacher to only be at a school for less than the 5 years. Some stay less, but the absolute max is 5 years.

Foreign Children in Japanese Schools

At one point, this was a rarity but foreign students are being seen more and more often - more so in urban centers. Some schools have more expirience in dealing with foreigners and their educational needs. All children are eligible to enter public education for free up until the end of junior high. The only expenses the families have to pay are the same as the expenses the Japanese families have to pay: uniforms, texts, clubs, and the like.

There is, of course, the option of a private school: in larger cities there is often an international school which will offer lessons in English and Japanese. This is of course a more expensive option, unless you want to have to study everything in Japanese, this may be a better option.

Graduation

Graduation ceremonies arne't like ours. There ae no caps, no gowns. It's highly ritualized and very formal with lots of speeches. Regardless of whether or not the students were permitted to amke the track suit uniform their daily one during the school year, all students are expected to wear the proper school uniform to this (as well as to other important ceremonies at school). There will be many high dignitaries present. In smaller communities (such as Kurohone), the mayor will be present. In larger places, there will be a member of the local government or representative of the town/city. Unlike the equivalent ceremony in Norht America, there is no reception afterwards.


School Uniforms

These are mandatory. Every school has one and the styles varry from school to school. All schools have a summer version of the uniform (usually consisting of just a white dress shirt and the uniform slacks for boys and a reduced-weight traditional uniform or blouse and tartan skirt with tie for girls) and a sports-activity uniform (a polyester track suit for year-round use and a t-shirt and shorts for summer activities). Depending on how strict a school is, students may often wear different seasonal and activity uniforms within the same classroom during the day (such as the Kurohone chugakkou students always wearing their colored track suits rather than the more formal uniform). Individual students may attempt to subvert the system of uniforms by wearing their uniforms incorrectly or by adding prohibited elements such as large loose socks or badges. Girls may shorten their skirts; boys may wear trousers about the hips, omit ties, or keep their shirts unbuttoned.

For example, in the area I lived in, you could usually tell what year of high school a girl is in by how short her skirt is. 1st years wear their skirts longer, 2nds a little shorter, and 3rds the shortest of all, which is to say very short.

Since some schools do not have sex-segregated changing or locker rooms, students may change for sporting activities in their classrooms. As a result, such students may wear their sports uniforms under their classroom uniforms. Stricter schools also regulate student hairstyles (and even color, as a note), footwear, and book bags.

Elementary uniforms:

In many areas, elementary-schools students are not required to wear a uniform to school. Where uniforms are required, many boys wear white shirts, shorts, and caps. Young boys often dress more formally in their class pictures than they do other days of the school year. Girls' uniforms might include a grey pleated skirt and white blouse. Both boys and girls wear brightly coloured caps to prevent traffic accidents.These are common in all schools.

Junior High and High School

These traditionally consist of a military style uniform for boys and a sailor outfit for girls. These uniforms are based on Meiji era formal military dress, themselves modelled on European-style naval uniforms. While this style of uniform is still in use, many schools have moved into more Western style of uniform.

A boy's uniform tends to consist of a white shirt, tie, blazer with school crest, and dress trousers which are often not of the same colour as the blazer. For girls, it's typically a white blouse, tie, blazer with school crest, and pleated tartan skirt.

Gakuran

The gakuran (or the tsume-eri) are the standard public school uniforms for many middle school and high school boys in Japan. (Private schools may have a different uniform and public schools may choose to have a different style, as seen in various anime.) The color is normally black, but some schools use navy and dark blue as well.

The top has a standing collar buttoning down from top-to-bottom. Buttons are usually decorated with the school emblem. Pants are straight leg and are one color, and a black or dark-colored belt is worn with them. Boys usually wear penny loafers or sneakers with this uniform. Some schools may require the students to wear collar-pins representing the school and/or class rank. In manga and anime, the gakuran of protagonists or tough-guy ("Yankee") characters may be notably different, with a distinctly lengthened or shortened jacket, or a distinctive color.

The second button of the top of a male's uniform is often given away to the female in love with him, and is considered a way of confession. The second button is the one closest to the heart and is said to contain the emotions from all three years attendance at the school. This practice was apparently made popular by a scene in a novel by Daijun Takeda.

The design of the gakuran is derived from Prussian army uniforms. The term is a combination of 'gaku' meaning "study" or "student", and 'ran' meaning Holland or, historically in Japan, the West in general; thus, gakuran translates as "Western student (uniform)".

Sailor uniform

The sailor outfit or seera fuku is a common style of uniform worn by female middle school and high school students, and occasionally, elementary school students. It was introduced as a school uniform in 1921 by the principal of Fukuoka Jo Gakuin (university), Elizabeth Lee. It was modelled after the uniform used by the British Royal Navy at the time, which Lee had experienced as an exchange student in the United Kingdom.

Much like the male uniform, the gakuran, the sailor outfit bears a similarity to various military styled naval uniforms. The uniform generally consists of a blouse attached with a sailor-style collar and a pleated skirt. There are seasonal variations for summer and winter: sleeve length and fabric are adjusted accordingly. A ribbon is tied in the front and laced through a loop attached to the blouse. Several variations on the ribbon include neckties, bolo ties, neckerchiefs, and bows. Common colours are navy blue, white, grey, light green and black.

Socks worn wtih this uniform are typically navy or white. The shoes are typically brown or black penny loafers. Although not part of the prescribed uniform, loose socks are also commonly matched by more fashionable girls with their sailor outfits.

Cultural significance

There are schools in Japan that are known for their particular uniforms. Uniforms can have a nostalgic characteristic for former students, and as such they are often associated with relatively carefree youth. Uniforms are sometimes modified by students as a means of exhibiting individualism, including lengthening or shortening the skirt, removing the ribbon, hiding patches or badges under the collar, ading jewelry (like broaches), etc. Brightly coloured variants of the sailor outfit were also adopted by Japanese yankee and Bōsōzoku biker gangs.

Because school uniforms are a popular fetish item, second-hand sailor outfits and other items of school wear are brokered through underground establishments known as burusera, although changes to Japanese law have made such practices difficult. Sailor outfits, along with other styles of school uniform, play an undeniably large role in otaku culture and the Japanese sexual canon as evidenced by the large amount of anime, manga, and dōjinshi featuring characters in uniform.

Stylised school uniforms are prominent in the popular Japanese comics Sailormoon, Cardcaptor Sakura, Kodomo no Ocha (or Kodocha as it's often called by fans), Lucky Star, Zatch Bell! and InuYasha.

Randoseru

A randoseru is a firm-sided backpack made of stitched firm leather or leather-like synthetic material, most commonly used in Japan by elementary schoolchildren. It measures roughly 30cm high by 23cm wide by 18cm deep, and features a softer grade of leather or material on those surfaces which touch the body. When empty, the average randoseru weighs approximately 1.2 kilograms (about 2 1/2 pounds avoirdupois.) The term randoseru is a borrowed word from the Dutch 'ransel' meaning backpack, a clue to its origins nearly 200 years ago as used in the Netherlands.

The randoseru is the most universal and recognizable feature of the Japanese school uniform and is considered symbolic of the virtues necessary to obtain a good education - unity, discipline, hard work and dedication. Traditionally, the randoseru is red in colour for girls, black for boys. While in more conservative schools the colour (and often the brand and design) is mandated and enforced, the backpack is available in a variety of colours, partly as a compromise for parents to retain some tradition within modernized schools which no longer require the use of traditional uniforms or of the randoseru.

Traditionally given to a child upon beginning their first year at school, the randoseru's materials and workmanship are designed to allow the backpack to endure the child's entire elementary education (six years). However, the care usually given to the randoseru throughout that time and afterwards can extend its life and preserve it in near-immaculate condition long after the child has reached adulthood, a testament to its utility as an accessory and the sentiment attached to it by many Japanese as symbolic of their (relatively carefree) childhoods.

The randoseru's durability and significance is reflected in its cost: a new randoseru made of genuine leather can carry a pricetag of over 30 000 yen (approximately 300 American dollars). Clarino, a synthetic material frequently used as a substitute, reduces the cost somewhat. Often randoseru are available on auction sites, in new or used condition, at much lower prices, particularly after the start of the Japanese school year in April. The randoseru is much in demand outside of Japan, especially by fans of manga,anime, or cosplay; and appreciated for their boxy roominess and distinctive style by people of all ages. To date, however, few if any manufacturers outside Japan have adopted the randoseru into their product lines and few Japanese manufacturers and distributors have made it available for export.