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They're super fun to wear and customise!

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Although anime before Sailor Moon featured school uniforms, this anime in particular spread the beauty of Japanese sailor-style uniforms around the world!

Shaun Edmonds . (1995, August 28). Sailor Moon (TV Series 1995–2000). IMDb. Retrieved December 10, 2021, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114327/

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Customising is very popular and becoming more common

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Customising is very popular and becoming more common

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A man named Takayuki Aiura, who rebelled against uniforms in his youth, created a line of uniform styled clothes that allows high-school students and uniform enthusiasts (such as myself) to coordinate their own uniforms. This came about after a girl who attended the same school he did told him she wanted to wear something only a high-school girl could wear but without any strict rules.

This brand is called CONOMI (and I own a few of their pieces myself!)

APA References:

NHK World [TV Everywhere]. (2019, December 18). BEGIN Japanology Uniforms [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw4gD7H-Gko

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Schools are beginning to offer gender neutral alternatives to girls and boys that prefer to wear either trousers or skirts.

APA References:

Gender-Free Uniforms: Japanese Schools Move to Make Allowances for LGBTQ Students. (2021, November 29). Nippon.Com. Retrieved December 10, 2021, from https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h01170/?cx_recs_click=true

School Uniforms Becoming Gender-Neutral in Japan. (2021, May 10). Nippon.Com. Retrieved December 10, 2021, from https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2021051000123/?cx_recs_click=true

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A popular style that existed in the 90s-2000s was Kogyaru (High School gal). Typical features of this fashion included extra mini skirts, loose socks, heavy makeup, and dyed hair (usually ranging from dark brown to platinum blonde).

APA References:

Kogyaru / Kogal Fashion > All about the Japanese outfit style. (n.d.). Kogyaru. Retrieved December 9, 2021, from https://kogyaru.com

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This set of uniforms was designed by Kansai Yamamoto, a designer who was fairly popular during the 70's and 80's.

APA Referencing:

About Japanese School Uniforms: Symbols of Freedom, Rebellion, and Fashion | LIVE JAPAN travel guide. (2018, April). LIVE JAPAN. Retrieved December 5, 2021, from https://livejapan.com/en/in-tokyo/in-pref-tokyo/in-tokyo_suburbs/article-a0002110/

佐藤のデザイン - KANSAI SCHOOL FORM. (n.d.). 佐藤のデザイン. Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https://satodesign.myportfolio.com/kansai-school-form

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It was around this time that Japanese Idol groups started incorporating school uniforms into their performances.

One influencial group was Onyanko-Club, an idol group made up mainly of school aged girls. Their song "Don't Take Off My Sailor Uniform", although albeit controversial, was a hit about adolescent girls wanting to explore adult experiences.

APA References:

Ame Agari. (2015, July 12). Onyanko Club - Sailor fuku wo nugasanaide [Eng sub] [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83uFs-o1yBA

Japanese idol. (2004, September 2). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_idol#1960%E2%80%931980:_Post-war_era_and_idol_beginnings

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Onyanko Club - Sailor fuku wo nugasanaide [Eng sub]

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Japanese girls in sukeban, an altered version of the sailor-style uniform.

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Not only were Sukeban uniforms to protest the authoritarian ways of the Japanese education system, but they were also a way to express that being strong and being a woman weren't mutually exclusive.

APA Referencing:

Felthousen-Post, C. (2019, July 18). The True Story Of Sukeban: Violent Girl Gangs Of ’70s Japan. Groovy History. Retrieved December 5, 2021, from https://groovyhistory.com/sukeban-school-girl-gangs-japan

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Screenshot from NHK's "BEGIN Japanology  - Uniforms."

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"By the 1930's, sailor suits had spread to schools throughout Japan." (Quote from BEGIN Japanology - NHK, hosted by Peter Barakan.)

This was following a trend in which Japanese women started adopting western fashion in response to a tragedy - The Great Kanto earthquake. The restrictiveness of the Kimono meant that many women died during the earthquake as they were unable to escape to safety.

APA References:

NHK World [TV Everywhere]. (2019, December 18). BEGIN Japanology Uniforms [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw4gD7H-Gko

Magazine, S. (2011, May 1). The Great Japan Earthquake of 1923. Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved December 9, 2021, from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-great-japan-earthquake-of-1923-1764539/

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Hakama style uniform still in use  - photo courtesy of Atomi University, Japan.  

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APA References:

ATOMI UNIVERSITY. (n.d.). 跡見学園女子大学. Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https://www.atomi.ac.jp/univ/english/

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Sailor top and bloomers - Japanese P.E. Uniform from 1900's.

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Sailor top and bloomers - Japanese P.E. Uniform from 1900's.

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These are the proposed designs of the bloomer and sailor-style top that Akuri Inoguchi suggested women wear during p.e. lessons after she visited the USA in 1901, and is quoted to have said "There is a great desire to make women strong in Japan and so my government sent me over here to study how to increase our women's strength." (The Boston Globe, 1901.)

APA References:
井ノ口阿くり (1906). 体育之理論及実際 (3rd ed., Vol. 18). 国光社.

The Boston Globe. (1901). Knowledge for Japan. The Boston Globe. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60538552/knowledge-for-japan/

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Akuri Inoguchi, a Japanese physical education teacher, encouraged women to wear bloomers to be able to engage in physical activity as part of their education. She is known as the "mother of Japanese women's physical education."

At the time, women's education in Japan started taking women's health more seriously as the government was pushing the agenda of needing women to be fit so that they could be adequate wives and mothers (also known as ryousai kenbo - a good wife and wise mother.)

APA References:

Cambridge, N. (2011). Cherry-Picking Sartorial Identities in Cherry-Blossom Land: Uniforms and Uniformity in Japan. Journal of Design History, 24(2), 171–186. https://doi.org/10.1093/jdh/epr005

[Photograph of Inoguchi Akuri]. (n.d.). Akuri Inoguchi. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Inokuchi_Akuri.jpg

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Restoration of uniform from Fukuoka Jogakuin (1921)

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Following after Heian Jogakuin's success with the sailor-style school uniform, principle Elizabeth Lee also adopted the sailor style uniform for the then Fukuoka Eiwa Girls School.

This is when the sailor-style uniform became two piece (i.e. a top and skirt), which continues to be the model used today.
According to the history page on Fukuoka Jogakuin's website, the reason Elizabeth Lee adopted this uniform was that she wanted to be able to engage in physical sports with the students as to deepen their understandings of each other as she did not speak Japanese. She found traditional Japanese uniforms to be restrictive, and worked with a well-known tailor at the time, Toyokichi Ota, to make the clothing pattern that is still used today.

APA References:

Fukuoka Jogakuin University. (n.d.). 沿革｜大学概要｜福岡女学院大学・短期大学部｜福岡市唯一の私立女子大学. 福岡女学院大学・福岡女学院大学短期大学部. Retrieved December 7, 2021, from https://www.fukujo.ac.jp/university/about/history

日本の学ぶスタイルの変遷(明治・大正). (n.d.). Tombow. Retrieved December 9, 2021, from https://www.tombow.gr.jp/uniform_museum/style/style03.html

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Twitter Artist Satoimoya creates a visual comparison between the uniforms typically worn by girls in the 2000's vs the 2010's.

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Girls in 2007 seemed to prefer long socks, short skirts, cardigans, and shoulder book bags while girls in 2017 prefer shorter socks, longer skirts, vests, and backpacks.

There is variation in hairstyles too, with the more recent image displaying the preference for a simple and neat style compared to the dyed and stylised her style.

さといも屋. (2017, June 6). さといも屋＠活動縮小中 on [Digital Illustration]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/petit_flare/status/872048205642555398?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E872048205642555398&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftogech.jp%2F2017%2F06%2F10%2F47429

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Students try to make their uniforms more individualised during this era, bringing on uniform fashion trends such as loose socks and mini skirts being popular.

APA Referencing:

Japan’s School Uniforms. (2020, August 13). Nippon.Com. Retrieved December 10, 2021, from https://www.nippon.com/en/features/jg00033/

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Children born in the late 60's and early 70's were called Junior Baby Boomers, children of Baby Boomers born in the late 40's and 50's.

The sudden rise in population saw schools looking for new ways to attract students, and adopted modern designs to their uniforms, taking on designs that were seen in Catholic schools in the west - blazers, white collared shirts, and tartan skirts, with a necktie, and this design is still prominent today, with it being used largely in high school settings. Some schools even hired designers to try and get the best uniforms.

It is said this was also to combat the ability of students to hide weapons in their uniforms by decreasing the lengths of the skirts.

APA References:

NHK World [TV Everywhere]. (2019, December 18). BEGIN Japanology Uniforms [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw4gD7H-Gko

日本の学ぶスタイルの変遷(昭和・平成). (n.d.). Tombow. Retrieved December 10, 2021, from https://www.tombow.gr.jp/uniform_museum/style/style04.html

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"Disorderly dress leads to disorderly behaviour."

Rules around school uniforms were tightened to combat the rise of delinquent students who would wear their uniforms in disorderly and disheveled ways. This however had the opposite effect, and students rebelled even more against the uniforms.

APA References:

NHK World [TV Everywhere]. (2019, December 18). BEGIN Japanology Uniforms [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw4gD7H-Gko

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During a time of strong economic growth, students wanted universities to be abolished and uniforms to disappear as they were seen as a symbol of elitism and control. Violent protests against the americanisation of the education system as well as the unpaid internships at medical universities happened across Japan.

During this time, delinquent men were forming gangs that didn't allow women to join, so women made their own gangs, known as "Sukeban." Members of these delinquent gangs would alter their uniforms by wearing ankle heigh socks, long skirts (in which they hid their weapons), and cropped tops. Some would embroider words and symbols onto their uniforms.

APA References:

1968–1969 Japanese university protests. (2021, April 15). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968%E2%80%931969_Japanese_university_protests

Schmidt-Rees, H. (2019, June 16). Sukeban - The Forgotten Story of Japan’s Girl Gangs. PERSPEX. Retrieved December 10, 2021, from https://www.per-spex.com/articles/fashion-history/2019/2/16/sukeban-the-forgotten-story-of-japans-girl-gangs

Saigoneer. (2019). Photos: The 1970’s girl gangs that inspired Japanse pop culture and fashion rebels. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://saigoneer.com/saigon-culture/16814-photos-the-1970s-girl-gangs-that-inspired-japanese-pop-culture-and-fashion-rebels

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During this time, while most school uniforms returned to the sailor-style uniform with a skirt, people who were part of student movement bodies disregarded uniforms as a symbol of authority, thus a large number of urban schools got rid of uniforms, but not all of them did.

APA References:

Gorry, C. (1949, August). [Photograph: Japanese student demonstrates a typrewriter.]. Tokyo, Japan 1917–1950: Rare Images Of Love, Loathing And Life. https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/PA-11669475-1024x819.jpg

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As Japan went into war, women were encouraged to ditch the skirts from their sailor-style uniforms and wear monpe instead, to be able to assist with the warm efforts better.

During WW2, most Japanese youth were assisting in the war effort and therefore not attending school as regularly, with boys being enlisted in the army and girls assisting in the creation of ammunition and weapons.

Choosing to wear a skirt was seen as betrayal, as it was taken as you did not want to assist your country during the war.

APA References:

[Photograph: Women wearing Monpe pants lining up.]. (n.d.). Monpe Is Sold as Labour Work Clothes. http://loveartlab.me/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/monpe-march.jpg

Peace Seeds: Teens in Hiroshima Sow Seeds of Peace (Part 3). (2015, February 26). 中国新聞ヒロシマ平和メディアセンター. Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https://www.hiroshimapeacemedia.jp/?seeds=peace-seeds-teens-in-hiroshima-sow-seeds-of-peace-part-3

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Skirts became impractical during the Sino-Japanese war period, so pants, known as Monpe, were worn instead in the late 1930's.

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Due to lack of resources to create fabrics due to the Sino-Japanese war and WW2, Japanese citizens made pants, known as "Monpe" that could be made from existing cotton kimono, or available materials/fabrics.

Wearing monpe was being pushed to encourage women to assist with the war efforts.

APA References:

Peace Seeds: Teens in Hiroshima Sow Seeds of Peace (Part 3). (2015, February 26). 中国新聞ヒロシマ平和メディアセンター. Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https://www.hiroshimapeacemedia.jp/?seeds=peace-seeds-teens-in-hiroshima-sow-seeds-of-peace-part-3

L. (2016, September 8). How sailor uniform become popular in Japan? -1. About Japanese Culture |. Retrieved December 8, 2021, from http://loveartlab.me/2016/09/09/how-sailor-uniform-become-popular-in-japan-1/

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Japanese school uniforms from 1920's Japan (Taisho Era)

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Western Style uniforms become popular, spreading the now well known "sailor fuku" (sailor-style uniform) across Japan.

Heian Jogakuin (also known as St. Anges), a woman's university which was previously a girl's high school, was the first school to introduce western-style (i.e. not Kimono or Hakama based) sailor uniforms.

Unlike today where the top and skirt are separate, sailor-style uniforms from the Taisho Era were one-piece dresses with a belt around the waist.

APA References:
T. (2017, May 4). 和装から洋装へ、女学生はセーラー服！？ : ゆかいな大正時代. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from http://1912.blog.jp/archives/1845231.html

平. (n.d.). 沿革 | 歴史と沿革 | 大学・短大について | 平安女学院大学. St Agnes’ University. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from http://www.heian.ac.jp/about/history/univ/

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During the Meiji Era, girls started wearing Hakama (skirt-pants that usually men wore), as they were easier to move in compared to the traditional Kimono.

APA References:

Atomi Gakuen Women’s University Hanami Memorial Museum Collection. (1899). [Photograph: Ceremony clothes at Atomi Girls’ School in 1899]. 【袴の由来や歴史】女袴の誕生秘話. https://hakama-bijin.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/atomigakuen1.j

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Japanese school uniforms have been around for 150-160 years now. The female Japanese school uniform has gone through many changes starting from the late 1800's, and continues to change today, becoming more inclusive of gender diversity and individual preferences.