Figure 1.-- Here we see a Japanese family during the 1930s. It looks like the grandmother, mother, and four sons. They look to be about 4-16 years of age. To the twp older boys wear school uniforms. The two younger boys seem to be wearing sweaters and knit pants. They do not look particularly prosperous, but the home in the back ground suggest rather well-to-do family.

Here we see a Japanese family during the 1930s. It looks like the grandmother, mother, and four sons. They look to be about 4-16 years of age. To the two older boys wear school uniforms. The two younger boys seem to be wearing sweaters and knit pants. They do not look particularly prosperous, but the home in the back ground suggest rather well-to-do family. We are surprised that the boys would not have been better dressed. The fact that the older boy is goung to secondary school, akso suggests a degree of prosperity. Most Japanese children did not continue their education beyond the primary level. A reader writes, "Is the oldest boy in the front row (extreme left) wearing shorts or knickers with long black stockings? They look a bit like longish shorts to me. Does the oldest boy in the back with the uniform wear long trousers or knee pants? The family seems to have adopted Western dress to some extent, which would fit with your assessment of an upper-class family." I am not sure I would classify the family here as upper class, although I think they are affluent. I am also not sure that Japanese boys wore knee pants (with the three ornamental hem buttons) like American boys. These buttons seem to be a residual of the buttons worn wwith 18th century knee breeches. But Japan's opening to the West only came in 1853 and the Menji Restoration two decaded later. It was only after the Menji Restortion that Japan began building a modern education system. And Western dress only became common in the 20th century and here inly in urban areas. Thus we do not see Japanese boys wearing knee pants, although they did wear knee-length shorts.

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Created: 8:27 PM 5/30/2007
Last updated: 6:19 PM 5/31/2007