Japanese School Uniform

Japan introduced school uniforms in the late 19th century. Today, school uniforms are almost universal in the public and private school systems. They are also used in some women's colleges. The Japanese word for uniform is seifukusuitIn the majority of 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 gray pleated skirt and white blouse. Occasionally the sailor outfit is used for girls. The uniform codes may vary by season to work with the environment and occasion. It's common for both boys and girls wear brightly colored caps to prevent traffic accidents. Also, it is normal for uniforms to be worn outside of school areas.

The gakuran or the tsume-eri are the uniforms for many middle school and high school boys in Japan. 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 to show respect to the school. Pants are straight leg 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 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 a female he is in love with, 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.raditionally, the gakuran is also worn along with a matching (usually black) student cap, although this custom is less common in modern times. Jotaro Kujo from the manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure wears a more decorated and worn-out version of this cap as a form of rebellionThe 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)". Such clothing was also worn by school children in South Korea and pre-1949 China.

Various schools are known for their particular uniforms. Uniforms can have a nostalgic characteristic for former students, and is 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, etc. In past decades, brightly coloured variants of the sailor outfit were also adopted by Japanese yankee and Bosozoku 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. The pop group Onyanko Club had a provocative song called "Don't Strip Off the Sailor Suit!"[4] 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 dojinshi featuring characters in uniform.

School uniforms differ not only by school, but also by the particular series of anime, manga, or game that utilizes them. Stylised school uniforms are prominent in many popular Japanese comics and anime. It is common for anime and manga characters to wear school uniforms to show they are young like much of their readers and it is easier for the artist to draw than different outfits for everybody.