Japanese school uniform
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Japan introduced Western style school uniforms in the late 19th century as a part of its modernization program. Today, school uniforms are almost universal in the public and private school systems. They are also used in some women's colleges.
In many areas, elementary school students do not need to wear a uniform to school, and can wear whatever street clothes they like. Where uniforms are required, many boys wear white shirts, shorts, and caps. The uniform codes may change depending on the season to work with the environment and occasion; young boys often dress more formally in their class picture than if they were in a class in the normal time of the school year. Girls' uniforms might include a gray pleated skirt and white blouse. Both boys and girls wear brightly colored caps to prevent traffic accidents.
The Japanese junior and senior high school uniform traditionally consists of a military style uniform (gakuran) for boys and a sailor dress (sailor fuku) for girls. The Japanese pronounce this as sērā fuku. However, it is important to note that the Japanese word for uniform in general is "seifuku" (制服). 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 pattern parochial school uniform styles in order to make a departure from the decidedly military appearance of the traditional uniform. These uniforms consist of a white dress shirt, necktie, blazer with school crest and dress trousers (often not of the same color as the blazer) for boys and a white blouse, necktie, blazer with school crest and tartan skirt for girls.
Regardless of what type of uniform any particular school assigns its students, all schools will 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 the discipline level for any particular school, students may often be seen wearing different seasonal and activity uniforms within the same classroom during the day. Individual students also often attempt to subvert the system of uniforms by adding "illegal" elements to their uniform (such as large loose socks or badges) or wearing their uniform incorrectly (altering skirts to "mini" size for girls and wearing trousers about the hips, omitting neckties and keeping dress shirts unbuttoned for boys). Students are also known to wear their sports activity uniforms under their more formal classroom uniforms as Japanese schools do not usually have any gender segregated changing or locker rooms (they change in the classrooms). Certain schools also take to regulating student's hairstyles along with footwear and bookbags, but these particular rules are usually adhered to only on special occasions such as tri-mester opening and closing ceremonies and school photo days.
School uniforms in popular culture and everyday Japanese life
The school uniform is an established part of Japanese life. Stylized school uniforms are prominent for instance in the Japanese comic Sailor Moon, or in Cardcaptor Sakura, as well as Ling Xiaoyu and Miharu Hirano's school uniforms in the Tekken games. Asuka Kazama's school uniform is a different style than Xiaoyu and Miharu's school uniforms, however (examples of this uniform include Lori's (Shiori) school uniform seen in an episode of Zatch Bell!). Different schools in Japan are known for their particular uniforms.