reference library | elementary school backpacks: a symbol of japanese children’s identity
2024-09-05
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reference news reported on september 4the new york times recently published an article titled "the elementary school bag that holds japan together" written by motoko richie. the full text is excerpted below:
in japan, where cultural expectations are hammered into children at school and at home, and peer pressure is as powerful as any authority or law, at least on the surface, this helps keep society running smoothly.
japanese people tend to queue quietly, obey traffic lights and pick up trash after sports games or other activities because they have been trained to do so since kindergarten.
carrying bulky backpacks for elementary school students to go to school "is not even a rule imposed by anyone, but a rule that everyone follows together," said naoko fukushima, associate professor of educational management at chiba institute of technology.
on the first day of the spring semester this year (japanese schools start in april), first-grade students and their parents came to kitasuna elementary school in koto ward, eastern tokyo, to attend the entrance ceremony. to record this iconic moment that will be remembered by generations in japanese family albums, the children, almost all carrying elementary school backpacks, lined up at the school gate to take photos with their parents.
a mother surnamed akimoto said: "the vast majority of children choose elementary school backpacks, and our generation also uses elementary school backpacks." her 6-year-old son taro chose a camel-colored elementary school backpack.
in the past, uniformity was more evident: black for boys and red for girls. in recent years, a growing discussion about diversity and individuality has prompted businesses to offer colorful backpacks with unique details such as embroidered cartoon characters, animals or flowers, or linings made from different fabrics.
however, the primary school bag association said that most boys now carry black primary school bags, but purple primary school bags have become more popular than red among girls.apart from the color changes and larger capacity to hold more textbooks and tablets, the shape and structure of these bags have remained stable for decades.
the almost totemic status of the elementary school backpack dates back to the meiji era in the 19th century, when japan was transforming from an isolated feudal kingdom to a modern nation with new relationships with the outside world. the education system helped unify separate fiefdoms with their own customs into a single nation with a common culture.
kazunori tomano, associate professor of philosophy and education at kumamoto university, said the school instills the idea that "we are all the same and we are all one family."
in 1885, the gakushuin, the official school for the japanese imperial family, designated a backpack resembling a dutch military rucksack as its official schoolbag. from that point on, historians say, the schoolbag quickly became a ubiquitous childhood identity marker in japan.
the widespread use of school bags among elementary school students fits into japan’s approach to education. schools not only help build national identity but also prepare students for military mobilization.
after the war, the nation mobilized once again, this time to rebuild the economy with dedicated, law-abiding laborers. some large companies gave elementary school backpacks as gifts to their employees’ children, recognizing the strong solidarity they symbolized, a practice that continues to this day.
grandparents often buy school bags for elementary school students as commemorative gifts.
at tsuchiya kamo manufacturing, a nearly 60-year-old factory in eastern tokyo, parents make appointments to bring their children to a showroom to try out different colored backpacks, then place orders at an attached factory. each backpack consists of six main parts and takes about a month to make.
shinichiro ito and his wife emiko took their 5-year-old daughter nishiori to buy school bags this spring. he said they had never considered any options other than elementary school bags.
in recent years, some parents and child advocates have complained that the backpacks are too heavy for young children. elementary school backpacks sometimes take up half the height of an average first-grader. even without anything in them, the average backpack weighs about three pounds.
most schools don’t have individual lockers, and desks don’t have much storage space, so students carry textbooks and school supplies back and forth between home and school. in a culture that places a high value on hard work, patience, perseverance and persistence, the movement to lighten the load on children has not gone far.
"those cruel people say, 'children today are too weak. we carried heavy backpacks back and forth,'" said naoko fukushima, an education professor. some manufacturers have developed alternatives using lighter materials such as nylon while retaining the bag's shape. but those attempts have been slow to make headway.
on a recent morning, first-grader taro akimoto left school carrying a backpack that weighed about 6 pounds, or about one-seventh of his body weight. on the 10-minute walk to school, he joined several other classmates carrying elementary school backpacks.
he bao, 11, is a sixth-grader who has a crimson embroidered elementary school backpack that she has been carrying since first grade. she said she never wanted any other kind of backpack. "everyone carries an elementary school backpack, and i think it's great," she said.
