53 What are ”buruma?” (The History of Japanese School Uniforms and the ”Bloomers” Scandal)

On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: Whar are buruma?

Topics Discussed

• What buruma/bloomers are
• A brief overview of the history of school uniforms in Japan
• About the gakuran style school uniform
• About the supposed link between gakuran uniforms and Prussian military uniforms
• About sailor uniforms (sērā fuku)
• About "blazer" style uniforms
• The controversy over whether it was a school in Kyoto or Fukuoka that first introduced the sailor uniform in Japan
• The "second button" tradition
• The story behind why schools across Japan began having female students wear bloomers in the 1960s and why they stopped in the 1990s
• The urban legend that bloomers became popular due to the Japanese women's volleyball team wearing them in the 1964 Olympics
• The 1993 incident in Singapore that was the final straw that led to the disappearance of bloomers from schools in Japan
• About girls being able to wear slacks instead of skirts as part of their school uniforms
• About koromogae (changing school uniforms in accordance with the change of the seasons)
• And much more!

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Sources, Links, Videos, Etc.

Here are some of the Japanese language articles found when researching the topic of this episode.

• 高校の制服の歴史
• 昔の制服を試着！椙山歴史文化館
• 学校制服としてのセーラー服の歴史
• 学院の歴史資料
  • This is the website of Kyoto Heian Jogakuin. This is one of the schools that takes the credit for being the first to introduce sailor uniforms in Japan. On this page you can see a photo of this early version of the sailor uniform. This is the photo Ryan refers to that has a dog in it.
• セーラー服
• 学ランの由来と歴史について知ろう！
• 知ってるようで知らない学ランとセーラー服のお話
• 日本の学ランがプロイセンの軍服をモデルに作られたというのは本当ですか？
• 卒業式 学生服の第二ボタンの意味と由来とは？
• あの恥ずかしいブルマーはなぜ日本中の学校で強制されていたのか？ 裏には教育界とメーカーの癒着が
  • This is the article that explains the history of "bloomers" in Japan. It discusses why blooomers became so widely used in Japan and then why bloomers suddenly disappeared. The article goes over the research of Yuji Yamamoto, a professor at Kansai University who wrote a book titled Burumā no Nazo (The Riddle/Puzzle/Mystery of Bloomers).
• 【ＳＤＧｓ】愛媛でも広がるジェンダーレス制服
• 採用増える「ジェンダーレス制服」、誕生の背景は　トンボのデザイナーに聞く

Here's some of the English language sources read for this episode.

• About Japanese School Uniforms: Symbols of Freedom, Rebellion, and Fashion
• School uniforms in Japan
• Sailor Uniforms and the Maypole Dance
• SEIFUKU

Here is a video of the Japanese women's volleyball team competing in the finals of the 1964 Olympics.

• Japan Win First Ever Women's Volleyball Gold - Tokyo 1964 Olympics

To learn about weird/antiquiated/pointless school rules in Japan check out the episode of Ichimon Japan linked to below.

• Why are school rules in Japan so strict? (All About Kōsoku) | Ichimon Japan 23

Don't forget to check out the latest episodes of the Japan Station podcast via the links below.

• Coeds & Kaiju: On the Female Student in Japan’s New Left, Kaiju Movies & More (Dr. Chelsea Szendi Schieder) | Japan Station 77
• Behind the Scenes of JapanKyo Docs | Japan Station 78

Support the show by picking up a t-shirt at KimitoDesigns.com.

• Check out Kimito Designs

Japanese Vocabulary List

Most episodes feature at least one or two interesting Japanese words or phrases. Here’s some of the ones that came up on this episode. All information is from Jim Breen's WWWJDIC.

• Seifuku
  • 制服 【せいふく】 (n) uniform
• Sērā fuku
  • セーラー服 【セーラーふく】 (n) sailor suit; middy uniform
• Burumā
  • ブルマー : ブルマ; ブルマー; ブルーマー; ブルーマーズ; ブルマーズ (n) (1) bloomers; (n) (2) (girls') gym shorts

We Want Your Questions

Is there something about Japan that confuses you? Is there something about Japanese culture that you would like to learn more about? Is there something in Japanese history that you would like us to explain? We're always looking for new questions about Japan to answer, so if you have one, please send it to ichimon@japankyo.com.

Special Thanks

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Ichimon Japan cover art: Produced by Erik R.

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Full Show Notes

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