HERUMETTO (Bicycle Helmet) and TEIKI IRE (Rail Pass Holder)



Junior high school students in Japan usually walk to school. There are no school buses in Japan; it is the family’s (and usually the student’s own) responsibility to get the child to school. Unless a student attends private school, he will attend the local public junior high school, usually within walking distance of his house. Even if there is a bus line from home to school, students are usually required to walk. The school thinks it is good for them. On the first day of school, a student draws a map of the route he will take to and from school every day. He submits that to the school and is supposed to follow that route every day without stopping anywhere. In reality, many students make stops, such as at a comic book store or a Seven-Eleven convenience store, on the way home. If a student’s walk is longer than 30 minutes or if there is some physical reason why he cannot walk to school, he must get permission from the school to take another form of transportation, such as a bicycle, bus, train, or possibly a ferry.

The first object is a bicycle helmet. All junior high school students who have permission to ride a bicycle must wear a uniform bicycle helmet such as this. This helmet was worn by a junior high school student in Kagawa Prefecture in southern Japan. Originally it had the school’s emblem decorating the front, but the student removed it.





The second object is a holder for a train pass. Students can buy a discounted bus or train pass that they use every day to go to school or perhaps to juku in the evenings. Rail pass holders are a way to keep the pass safe and handy. They often have pictures of comic book characters or superheroes so children can express their personality in their choice of a rail pass holder. This rail pass holder has a picture of the very popular Hello Kitty character--as popular in Japan as Snoopy is in the United States. Hello Kitty was popular several years ago and is enjoying a resurgence. Children buy Hello Kitty goods because they are cute. Adult women, even those who usually carry Chanel or Gucci, carry Hello Kitty bags these days for nostalgic reasons.




KABAN (Book Bag)



This is a bookbag for a Japanese junior high school girl to carry items back and forth to school each day. Most schools require a certain style bookbag, although some schools allow the students to choose their own bookbag or backpack. The traditional uniform bookbag is a white canvas shoulder bag for boys and a black or navy leather briefcase for girls (like this one). Girls can usually choose real or imitation leather; the imitation leather is lighter and less expensive. A leather bookbag is expensive and often is used all three years of junior high school. This bookbag was used by two sisters in southern Japan, for a total of six years.

At first glance, all the bookbags at a junior high school look the same, but upon closer inspection, each bookbag is distinctive, reflecting a little of the student's personality. For example, students are allowed to decorate the bag (within bounds). Boys draw pictures or write things on the strap. Both boys and girls attach keychains to the strap for fun. In some schools, it is cool for girls to crush their bookbag until it is thin; the more expensive leather bag crushes better. Note that this well-used bookbag has been decorated with stickers and drawings--enough to make a statement, but not enough to get in trouble.

A look inside the bag tells a lot about each student. First, a student should carry all her textbooks home from school each night, whether or not she has homework; if she is leaving them in her desk, the teacher might say something to her. Second, a student will probably carry a pencil case and maybe a lunchbox, both of which are selected by the student. Third, a student may carry communications from school to home, such as an announcement of a PTA meeting. As in the U.S., depending on the student, some notes get forgotten in the bottom of the bookbag and never make it home to the parents. Also, students may be carrying personal items such as comic books (although they are usually banned), a train or bus pass, a comb (no makeup is allowed for any students in any grade), a handkerchief, or tissues.

Some schools have rules about how the bookbag is to be carried. For example, boys are supposed to carry the shoulder bag diagonally across the chest, from left shoulder to right hip. First year students are usually careful to carry their books this way, but upperclassmen do not think it is cool so they usually ignore the rule.




JIKAN WARI HYOU (Class Schedule)



This is a class schedule for a third year student (a ninth grader) in a junior high school in Kagawa Prefecture. While there is variation among schools, this schedule is typical of junior high school students in Japan. Here is a translation:

MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
1 Home Economics Mathematics Moral Education Health and P.E. Mathematics Home Room
2 Industrial Arts Health and P.E. Music Science Social Studies General Education
3 Elective

The school year begins in April and runs until the following March. There are three semesters: April to August, September to December, and January to March. There is a summer vacation that lasts about six weeks, a winter vacation around the New Year’s holiday, and a spring vacation between school years, in addition to several national holidays scattered throughout the year. Students go to school Monday through Friday and, until recently, half days on Saturday. The Ministry of Education is slowly phasing out school on Saturdays. Students currently have two Saturdays a month off. This schedule means that Japanese students go to school about 220 days of the year (compared to about 180 for U.S. students). By the end of high school, Japanese students will have gone to school about two more years than U.S. students.

School begins around 8:30 am and ends around 3:00 pm. The school day is divided into six periods. There are a few electives in junior high school, but most students follow a similar schedule. Most of the class subjects are familiar to U.S. students: math, science, social studies, language arts (Japanese), foreign language (English), art, music, home economics, industrial arts, health, and physical education. Some classes, however, need explanation. Moral education class is taken once a week. This class is secular, not religious, and students explore such topics as respect, honesty, and obligations to family and society.

After school most students are involved in extracurricular activities. See entry below on "Judo outfit" for an explanation of club activities.




TAISOUGI (Gym Uniform)



Every student in junior high school in Japan is required to take physical education classes. This is part of the Ministry of Education's goal of nurturing healthy bodies as well as minds. Students must buy a warm-weather gym uniform, a cold-weather gym uniform, and gym shoes. The gym uniforms in this Discovery Box come from Zentsuji Higashi Junior High School in Kagawa Prefecture. In the warm months, the gym uniform, like this white one, is shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. In the cold months, students wear a sweats outfit (like this blue one)--this marks a difference between junior high school and elementary school because in elementary school students must wear shorts no matter how cold it gets. The school symbol is over the left breast and the student must write his or her last name in a designated place on the front of the shirt. These navy gym shoes are also part of the uniform. In addition, about 70% of junior high schools have a swimming pool and swimming classes are part of physical education class. Students are required to buy a uniform swimsuit.

In elementary school, boys and girls take gym class together and change into gym clothes in the classroom together. Beginning in junior high school, boys and girls take gym separately. Normally two classes take gym at the same time--all the boys from both classes in the same gym class and all the girls in the other. Since most schools do not have locker rooms, the students use one classroom as the boys'changing room and the other classroom as the girls'changing room.

Many Japanese junior high school girls dislike the gym uniform. One reason is that gym teachers usually require students to tuck their gym shirts in. The girls do not like this because with the shirt tucked in, you can discern the whole body line and they find it embarrassing. Also, junior high school girls often do not want to show their legs; they prefer to wear sweats instead of shorts. Many gym teachers, in the interest of promoting self-discipline, do not allow students to wear sweats until mid-winter.

Athletic meets [undoukai] are held in the spring or fall. The entire student body is divided into two teams that compete against one another in such events as relay races, tug-of-war, three-legged races, and various ball-tossing games. Students may also perform choreographed dances. This is an all-school event and teachers, parents, and local residents attend and may participate. The focus of an undoukai is on recreation not competition.







KOUKOU NYUUSHI YOSOU MONDAI (High School Entrance Exam Practice Questions)



Junior high school marks the end of compulsory education in Japan. After ninth grade (the last year of junior high), students must decide if they will continue their education and go to high school. For the great majority of students the choice is easy. Modern Japanese society expects students to go to high school and 94% of them do so. The choice of which high school is more difficult. Students may choose from a variety of schools, public or private, some of which prepare students for work and some of which prepare students for college. All students must take an entrance examination to enter high school. The purpose of high school entrance exams is not to weed out unqualified candidates, but to determine which school a student will enter.

High school entrance examinations are held from January through March and students are usually tested in five areas: Japanese, mathematics, social studies, science, and English. The test results, along with junior high school grades, are the determining factors for entrance into high school. Children and their parents get counseling from the school to help them decide which high school would help them fulfill their dreams. Students who think they will enter the working world right after high school might choose a technical high school where they can learn subjects such as agriculture, nursing, or technology. Others who dream of attending a prestigious university will try to enter a high school with a good track record of getting their graduates into the top universities.

The competition to get into the best high schools is fierce. Junior high school students who have such ambitions spend many hours studying for high school entrance exams. More than half of all junior high school students attend private cram schools [juku] after school to prepare for the exams. The process of preparing for and taking exams is called "Examination hell"[shiken jigoku]. Every year in the media there are stories about the stress on students and sensational accounts of suicide and trauma. There are those who believe that the education system in Japan must be reformed to relieve junior high students of such pressure. Others believe that the examination hell phenomenon is mostly cooked up by the media. In any case, it should be noted that while all students must take an entrance exam for high school, not all students go through an examination hell.

Helping students prepare for high school examinations is big business. There are the private cram schools [juku] mentioned above as well as books like this one that contain practice tests. There are practice books like this for each prefecture and for each subject that is tested. This book is for the English part of the entrance examination given in public high schools in Kagawa Prefecture. It contains actual tests and answers from the past three years as well as an analysis of the types of questions asked. It also contains several timed practice tests with answers. A student would use this practice book at home to become familiar with the test format, practice his test-taking skills, and determine his strengths and weaknesses. Look at the kinds of questions that are asked. They can help you see what is expected of a 9th grade student after almost three years of English study.

Students who wish to go to college will repeat this test-taking process toward the end of 12th grade when they take the university entrance exams.




UWABAKI (Inside Shoes)



These shoes look like gym shoes, but actually they are the shoes that students wear inside a Japanese junior high school. Students arrive at school in their regular shoes. At the front door of the school all students (and teachers) change from their regular shoes to their inside shoes [uwabaki]. They put their regular shoes in a shoe compartment just inside the front door. All day long at school--except for gym class which has its own shoes--they wear these inside shoes. At the end of the day they reverse the process. The change from outside shoes to inside shoes marks the distinction between outside the school and inside the school and the beginning and ending of the school day.

The school recommends that students take their uwabaki home every weekend, wash them, and bring them back to school on Monday. Many parents require students to wash their own shoes as part of their chores. As students get older, they get used to dirty shoes and do not take them home often; there are many stinky uwabaki running around Japanese schools. Some shoes are all white, but some have colored rubber soles. Incoming seventh graders are assigned a color which they wear throughout junior high school (for example, the seventh graders might be assigned the color green, which they will wear in 7th, 8th, and 9th grades). Schools often require students to write their name, grade, and class on the shoes. It must be able to be read by a person standing facing the student, i.e., upside down to the student himself. Students are supposed to wear the uwabaki properly, but many of them--especially upperclassmen--like to step on the back of the heel and shuffle around in the shoes like clogs. If lowerclassmen try this, they often get chewed out by older students for being impertinent.




JUUDOUGI (Judo Outfit)



Most junior high schools have both required club activities and optional club activities. Required club activities are allotted one hour per week during regular school time. Optional club activities are usually held after school. Some students choose the same activity for both, but many students choose two different clubs.

The optional, after-school club activities are very important in the lives of junior high school students. Most students join one of the clubs and they can choose from sports clubs, such as soccer, baseball, tennis, or volleyball, or from what are called culture clubs, such as band, the drama club, the English Speaking Society, or the science club. Most students make a commitment to one club and are very loyal. They usually do not hop from one club to another; instead, most belong to the same club for all three years of junior high school. Of course students can quit, but many believe that if you quit in the middle of junior high, you will never be good enough to compete in tournaments. Furthermore, to quit in the middle of something is considered poor form in Japan. Because of the time commitment and the fierce sense of club loyalty, a junior high school student often meets his best friends in club activities.

Although the Japanese term for these after-school activities is "Club activities" or kurabu katsudou, many of the clubs are what we call school teams in the U.S. For example, in a Japanese junior high school baseball club, there are tryouts and not everyone can make the team. All the sports clubs have tryouts and many of the culture clubs, such as the brass band or the drama club, have tryouts as well. Clubs that meet just for fun and not for competition or performances do not have tryouts and anyone can join. These include clubs such as the animation club, the poetry club, or the go club.

Club activities require a large time commitment from the members. Clubs often meet after school from 3:00 until 5:00 pm. Before a tournament or performance, they may push themselves to practice before school or on the weekends as well. Many clubs also schedule practices during summer vacation.

This is an outfit that is worn by students learning or practicing judo [juudou], a Japanese martial art, literally "The Way of Softness." Judo is a method of exercise, moral training, and self- defense and emphasizes throwing and grappling. All boys learn judo in gym class in junior high school. In addition, the judo club is popular among junior high school boys and an increasing number of girls. Students spread tatami mats (made of rice straw) on the gym floor to practice judo. In addition to its long history in Japan, judo is recognized as an international sport and has been an Olympic sport since 1964.




KIIHORUDAA (Keychain) and OMAMORI (Protective Amulet)



This is a keychain, but a junior high school student in Japan would probably hang it on the strap of her bookbag for decoration. Some junior high school students--more girls than boys--like to decorate their bookbags to show their personality. This keychain is a small Doraemon character. Doraemon is an animated TV character who is a "Cat-like robot from the 22nd century that takes many fantastic tools out of its fourth dimension pouch." Keychains are often in the shape of famous characters, like Mickey Mouse, Sailor Moon, or Godzilla. Boys often like keychains that recall their favorite rock singer, like chains or spiked arm bands. Some children may make their own charm, perhaps a small stuffed animal or mascot. However, some children think that keychains are childish. They want to look like adults and choose not to decorate their bookbags at all.

Some children carry a small protective amulet [omamori], such as this one, that parents or grandparents have purchased at a shrine or temple. There are different omamori for different purposes. They may protect the child from harm, protect the child in traffic, help secure good test scores, etc. Often neither the child or parent believes much in the protective powers of omamori, but they think "It can't hurt" and attach it to the bookbag anyway. This omamori is from Zentsuji Temple in Kagawa Prefecture and is intended to help a student in her studies.




LAPEL PIN [Koushou]



This is a lapel that represents the school and it a required part of the the school uniform. The pin identifies the student as a member of the school and, like the uniform, helps to promote school spirit. A student usually leaves it permanently attached to his uniform. However, if he forgets his lapel pin on any given day, teachers or members of the school patrol will warn him to be sure to wear it the next day.




BENTOUBAKO (Lunchbox)



Some Japanese junior high schools have a school lunch program, but some schools require students to bring their lunch from home. Some schools have a cafeteria, but most do not so students eat in their classrooms at their desks. This colorful plastic object in its own carrying case is a lunchbox--no brown paper bags for Japanese children. Junior high school students choose their lunchbox to reflect their personality, often choosing one that is cool or cute. If the lunchbox doesn't have its own chopsticks, the student will usually carry a pair of plastic chopsticks in their own plastic carrying case.

This lunchbox is separated into two sections. Cooked rice is usually placed in the lower section. In the upper section a variety of side dishes--such as fish, chicken, egg, beans, vegetables, or pickles--is artfully arranged. Lunches are usually prepared by the student's mother. She takes great care to prepare lunches that are nutritious and appealing. It is one way that she can show her love for her child, but also she does not want to be shown up by the other mothers. Mothers make an extra effort to make a good lunch for special occasions such as a field trip or sports day at school. There are also times when Mother does not have time to make a good lunch. On such days, children may take a hastily thrown together lunch [tenuki-bentou or hands-off lunch] or will buy something at a store on the way to school.

In junior high school, after the first four periods, there is a time period for eating and a time period for play. Students all eat together and begin by saying "Itadakimasu"[literally, I receive]. They must wait until all students are finished and then they end together by saying "Gochisousama deshita" [literally, it was a feast.]. Once they put their lunchboxes away and clean up their desks, they are free to play. They may go outside, but must remain on the grounds of the school. Students are supposed to refrain from nibbling on their lunches before lunchtime, but sometimes they sneak bites between classes or during break times. Sometimes they are hungry, sometimes they just want to bend the rules, and sometimes they want to get their lunch over with so they can goof off during the designated eating time.




FUDEBAKO (Pencil Case)



This type of container is used by junior high school students in Japan to carry pencils, erasers, and other desk supplies in their schoolbag. Students are required to carry a pencil case, but the cases--and their contents--vary greatly in style and design and can therefore reflect the student's individuality. Beginning in junior high school, children start to want to choose both the box and its contents by themselves; in elementary school such things are often chosen by the mother. Obake no Q Taro depicted on this pencil case is popular with junior high school students. Some students try to match the contents with the pencil case, for example, also choosing Obake no Q Taro pencils, an Obake no Q Taro eraser, an Obake no Q Taro ruler, etc.

In elementary school, the teacher may recommend that the student carry three sharpened HB pencils and an eraser. As the child gets older, however, the pencil case grows up too. In junior high school, students begin to use mechanical pencils, ball point pens, and rulers. Some students like to make their notes colorful with drawings, underlining, and arrows. To do this, they bring a supply of markers and colored pencils in their pencil case. At the very least, a student must bring a pencil or mechanical pencil--something that can be erased. A look inside this pencil case reveals that it contains a mechanical pencil, a black pen, a pearl ink pen, a Mickey Mouse correction stick (that contains white correction fluid), a Winnie the Pooh ruler, and an eraser. A neat pencil case reflects a meticulous, careful student, while a messy pencil case may indicate sloppy work.

Students may own a variety of pencil cases. They will choose one depending on their mood or what is happening in class that day. Some students use a metal pencil case, although there are leather, cloth, or plastic ones as well. A metal pencil case makes a great clatter if it and all its contents are dropped. If students are trying to irritate the teacher, they may conspire to drop their pencil cases one after another. When one student finishes picking up her pencil case, another student drops his, thereby ensuring a racket and repeated classroom disruptions.




TSUUCHIHYOU (Report Card)



Report cards and grades are very important to junior high school students in Japan. In addition to entrance exam scores, junior high school grades are considered when applying to high school. In Japan, grades are usually given at the end of each of the three terms usually on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being the highest) or, if more nuance is needed, on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the highest). The same school might alternate between the two, using the more nuanced 1-10 scale for grades that will be considered in a high school application.

Report card grades are based on test results, assignments, homework, participation, and behavior. In Japanese elementary school and junior high schools (compulsory education), grades are almost always given on a strict bell curve. On a scale from 1 to 5, in a class of 40 students, three or four students can receive a five. Three or four students must be given a one. Average students get a three. The first and second terms have two major tests--a mid-term and a final exam--while the third term has only a final exam. The mid-term exam covers the five main subjects. The final exam covers all subjects, including art, music, and physical education.

This is a report card from Kotohira Junior High School in Kagawa Prefecture. The front of the report card contains the year, the school emblem, the name of the school, the grade and homeroom, the name of the student, the name of the principal, and the name of the homeroom teacher. The back of the report card is a certificate that, when filled out by the school, certifies that a student has successfully completed 7th, 8th, or 9th grade at Kotohira Junior High School. On the inside on the left is a chart for grades (1 through 5) for each subject as well as an indicator of whether the student is doing well or needs more effort. On the right hand side are places to record the student's conduct and attendance and a space for comments. Students must take the report card home and parents must affix their seal. Some parents reward children for good grades and punish them for bad grades. A reward might be in the form of money, and punishment might be having to attend more cram school (juku) classes. In junior high school, grades are still something that students usually keep secret from other students. This feeling lessens as students get older, but grades are still competitive in junior high.




GAKKOU SHINBUN (School Newspaper)



Schools have many options for publishing a newspaper. The newspaper might be published by the newspaper club or there might be a newspaper committee composed of students from all grades. Alternatively, the various classes of the school might take turns making the newspaper. The newspaper might be printed at school, perhaps handwritten even, or it might be printed professionally at a nearby printing shop.

This is a school newspaper from Kotohira Junior High School in Kagawa Prefecture. It is published by the Executive Committee of the Student Council. This issue is #1, the first of the 1998-1999 school year, and was published in April of 1998. The banner across the top reads Student Council Newspaper. In the box right below that are the major school activities for April-May, such as school assemblies, the school trip for the 9th graders, field trips for the 7th and 8th graders, electrocardiograms for the 7th graders, and the announcement of the date for all students to change from winter uniforms to summer uniforms.

The remaining three sections of the newspaper are for the first year students (7th graders), second year students (8th graders), and third year students (9th graders), respectively. The section for the 7th graders recognizes that they are new to the school and may still have some worries, but it encourages them to do their best in junior high school. The section for the 8th graders mentions that their first year went by so quickly and they will be 9th graders before they know it. It encourages them to make the most of this second year. The section for the 9th graders focuses on the 9th grade school trip to Nagasaki on April 21-24. It reminds the students that this is their last big event together in junior high school and encourages them to make it a wonderful, memorable trip.




SHUUGAKU RYOKOU NO SHIORI (School Trip Handbook)



The school trip is one of the highlights of junior high school in Japan and creates memories that students carry with them the rest of their lives. Once a year the ninth grade students (in their last year of junior high school) take an extended school trip of 3-4 days. The students travel to historic cities, cultural treasures, or areas of natural beauty. Most trips are taken during the spring or fall, although some schools have begun to take winter ski trips. The school trip serves many purposes. It gives students the opportunity to learn more about their country, it encourages them to plan and carry out a large event, and it gives them a chance to learn about the dynamics of group living.

The students prepare carefully for the trip. Many months before their departure, students start to bring money from home. For example, they may deposit 2,000 (approximately $15) a month with the school and they can watch their trip fund grow. Students are also required to prepare for the trip by researching the history, geography, or customs of the site. This brochure was published by the 9th grade students of Kotohira Junior High School in Kagawa Prefecture in preparation for their April 21-24, 1998 school trip to Nagasaki. In addition to the history and geography of the area, this booklet contains a detailed itinerary, maps, rules of conduct, guidelines for health and safety on the trip, the chain of command, rooming lists, seating charts for the buses, rules for taking the evening bath, table manners, a place to record how and where pocket money is spent, etc. This detailed preparation prevents any last minute confusion or arguing.

For the students, the trip is usually remembered as fun. They especially like staying in a hotel with their friends. Many students sleep in the same large room on futon, and they talk until morning and have pillow fights. The students try to elude the teachers and sneak into each others' rooms to hang out. During the day the students visit sightseeing spots by chartered bus. They must wear their school uniform, complete with nametag and lapel pin. The school limits the amount of money they can bring with them, but students still enjoy buying souvenirs for themselves and their families. After the school trip is over, some schools require a report.




SHITAJIKI (Note Page Protector)



This piece of plastic is called a shitajiki, which literally means "to spread underneath." It is placed between the pages of a notebook or under any piece of paper on which you are writing. There are two main reasons to use a shitajiki. The first is have a firm surface on which to write. The second is to protect the next page so that the pressure of your writing does not leave an imprint. A shitajiki is made of plastic and is carried in the bookbag. Students choose an appealing design that lets them express their personality--often a cartoon character, a movie, or a favorite singer or band. This shitajiki is decorated with Doraemon who is an animated cartoon character. As you can read, Doraemon is "a cat-like robot from the 22nd century that takes many fantastic tools out of its fourth dimension pouch."




SEITO TECHOU (Student Handbook)



This is a student handbook from Kotohira Junior High School in Kagawa Prefecture. Each junior high school in Japan has its own handbook that contains much important information about the school. On the cover of the handbook is the school emblem--the same as the lapel pin. Inside is the school song, goals for the students, a list of the school rules, and many empty pages for the student to make notes. In addition, there is a page for health information (height, weight, eyesight, hearing, blood type, etc.), pages to record contact between home and school, pages to write in the student's class schedule, and a place for names, addresses, and telephone numbers. Students are required to carry the handbook with them at all times so it can also serve as a form of ID. The pocket on the back cover can hold a bus or train pass, but this student chose to insert a picture of her favorite singer.

The rules in junior high school are usually more elaborate and more strictly enforced than those in elementary school or high school. School rules cover such things as tardiness, hairstyle, the correct way to wear the uniform, and proper behavior. Recently there has been a call from both parents and educators to ease some of the rules. As a result, some schools have replaced many of their rules with the general sentence: student should look and act like a junior high school student at all times.

The following list of school rules is taken from the appendix of the book The Material Child: Coming of Age in Japan and America (The Free Press, 1993). In this appendix, the author excerpts rules 5-12 from the school handbook for middle school students of Hitotsubashi Middle School in Tokyo.




KYOUKASHO (Textbooks)



In Japan, students in junior high school receive textbooks free of charge as part of their publicly-funded education. They can keep their textbooks and are not required to return them. Compared to their U.S. counterparts, textbooks in Japan are small, lightweight, and lack photographs. Students may complete one, two, or three textbooks in each subject in one school year. The teacher and students are supposed to study the entire textbook, cover to cover. Students are supposed to take all of their textbooks home every night, whether they have homework or not. Sometimes a student forgets a textbook at home; it is embarrassing. Some students like to cover their textbook with their favorite paper, sometimes depicting their favorite pop singer or a cute character like Mickey Mouse. The purpose is both to protect the book and to make it look cool.

Because they can keep their textbooks, students write in them, take notes in the margins, and sometimes tear them apart by chapter so that they take only the necessary parts to school, thus making their bookbag lighter. Many older people do not like to see books treated in this way. Some students keep their textbooks long after they become adults. However, houses are small, textbooks are frequently being revised, and new students receive their own textbooks free of charge, so eventually the old textbooks simply get thrown away.

These two textbooks are an English textbook and a math textbook. The first textbook is a ninth grade English textbook. Most Japanese children begin to study English in seventh grade, the first year of junior high school. You can read through the textbook to see how they begin to learn English as a foreign language. The second textbook is a ninth grade math textbook. Even without a translation, you can gauge the difficulty of the lessons and compare them to math classes in the United States.




SEIFUKU (Uniform)



Most junior high schools in Japan, public and private, require students to wear uniforms, although it is not required by the Ministry of Education. Each school usually has both a winter uniform and a summer uniform--these are the boys and girls winter uniforms. Uniforms help students feel they are part of a group and can therefore help build a spirit of cooperation and teamwork. In addition, they are meant to keep students' minds on their work, not on their clothes. Some students like the uniform while others hate it, but most students find it easy to wear a uniform because they do not have to think of what to wear.

The girl's uniform here is a skirt, white blouse, vest, and jacket. The length of the skirt is determined by the school. Girls usually try to alter the skirt--not so noticeably that they get caught--to conform to the current styles. These days it is fashionable for the hem to be above the knee. The top button of the blouse may be unbuttoned, but the others must remain buttoned. The placement of the nametag and lapel pin are determined by the school. We have also included a uniform coat.

The boy's uniform here consists of a pair of pants, a white shirt, and a high collar jacket. Boys try to alter the width of their pant legs--again, not so noticeably that they get caught--to be more stylish, whether peg legs or bell bottoms are in fashion. Boys should button all buttons and wear the white collar in the jacket. In reality, many boys open the collar and unbutton the top button. Some schools also have a hat for boys that they are required to wear to and from school. Both boys and girls may take the jacket off during regular classes, but must wear the full uniform for special school events and ceremonies.

Some schools require students to wear uniform shoes and socks, but other schools allow students to choose their own. Socks chosen by the student should be white, although some small decoration is usually permitted. In some schools, students must buy three pairs of uniform shoes: one for commuting, one for wearing inside the school, and one for gym class.

School officials, with input from parents and students, decide the style of the uniforms and designate a store from which all students can order the uniform. A uniform is expensive so students who do not grow fast can use the same uniform for all three years of junior high school. Large seams and hems are left in the uniforms so that they can be let out as a student grows, but many students must buy new uniforms mid-way through junior high school. Most students buy several blouses/shirts to be able to wear a clean one every day, but they often buy only one skirt, jacket, vest, or pair of pants that gets dry cleaned periodically.

The dates to change from winter to summer uniforms and back again are commonly set at July 1 and October 1, although these vary across Japan with the climate. The girl's summer uniform is usually a short-sleeved blouse and a skirt and vest of lighter material. The boy's summer uniform is a pair of pants and a short-sleeved shirt.

Junior high school may be the first time a Japanese young person wears a uniform, but it usually is not the last. Most high schools require uniforms and many jobs in society require uniforms. In addition to policemen, train conductors, and nurses, many factories have uniforms for blue collar workers and many firms--such as banks and department stores--require certain women employees to wear uniforms. Many people think the businessman's dark suit, white shirt, and conservative tie is a kind of uniform. In any case, the uniform serves to promote a sense of group identification.




TANGO KAADO (Word Cards)



Word cards are a type of flashcard used primarily by Japanese junior high school students to learn new English vocabulary words. Students write the English word on one side of the card. On the other side they write the pronunciation and/or meaning in Japanese. Because the word cards are small and easy to carry, they can practice the words anywhere--often on the bus or train.




Additional Resources

VIDEO: Junior High School Students Speak
LESSONS: Teenage Tokyo
BOOKS: