If you’ve watched more than an hour of Japanese television, you’ll know that school uniforms are a big part of life in Japan. School uniforms were introduced during the reforms of the Meiji Era, with the iconic “sailor uniform” appearing in the 1920s, based on a British fashion from the 19th century. Today nearly all junior high and high school students are required to wear uniforms; elementary school students generally don’t wear them, except in the case of private or religious schools. There are a lot of benefits from uniforms, including removing the differences between wealthy and less-well-off students (which appeals greatly to the Japanese), and adding a degree of discipline that I certainly lacked growing up. While the sailor style uniforms have become a world-famous image of Japan, this style is actually fading away, replaced with the more modern “blazer” type. (Haruhi’s normal uniform is an example of a “sailor” uniform, and her dark uniform in Disappearance an example of a “blazer.”) Incidentally J-List is fortunate to carry the authentic Japanese school uniforms from Matsukameya of Nagoya, male and female uniforms which are sewn to your exact measurements and sent to you. The quality is fabulous, and we recommend you check them out.
Sadly, the “sailor uniform” is an endangered species in Japan.
