Figure 1.--This class portrait was dated 1964, we would have guessed that the 1950s were more likely but are not at all sure. Internet dting is not always accurate. Our archive for the 60s is very limited.

By the 1960s we begin to see children wearing smarter, European styled clothes. This was mostly at primary schools because almost all seciondary scchools had largely standardized uniforms. Our information is still limited on the 1960s. We see a gradual transition so that schoolwear by the end of the decade was quite different than the beginning at the decade at primary scchiools. At the secondary schools uniforms were lrgely unchanged, although a greatly expanded secondary sysyem was widely established. We see primary children in the early 60s wearing a mix of uniforms and regular clothes. The uniforms we see the boys wearing cadet unifiorms with both short and long pants, but enforcement seems lax as many boys do not wear them. And perhaps a reflection of Japan's growing prosperity, the clothes look much more stylish than thosw worn in the 50s. Short pants seem to becoming increasingly common. For some reason the primary girls rarely wear uniforms, especially in the early years of the decade. By the end of the decade we see fewer boys wearing the Prussian cadet uniforms. Some schools began adopting uniforms based on European children's styles. We see some primary schools adopting a simple uniform, commonly white shirts and blue short pants. Some schools also had a blazer-like jacket witout lapels that the boys and girls wore. And some of the schools were very strict about wearing the uniform. We are not yet surehow common this was in the 60s. This would become much more common in the 70s. We are not yet sure about the girls, but by the 70s white blouses and suspender skirts became popular. There were color differences, but white and blue became very common. Most secomdary schools had Prussian cadet uniforms for the boys and sailor dresses for the girls. This was almost universal. There were a variety of small diffrences from school to school.

Primary Schools

Most public schools by the 1960s were coeducational. There had been coeducational schools in rural areas where two schools were impractical. After the War this was gradully changed and most public schools were codeducationsl, even in the cities. We begin to see children wearing smarter, European styled clothes. This was mostly at primary schools because almost all seciondary schools had largely standardized uniforms. Our information is still limited on the 1960s. We see a gradual transition so that schoolwear by the end of the decade was quite different than the beginning at the decade at primary schools. At the secondary schools uniforms were largely unchanged, although a greatly expanded secondary sysyem was widely established. We see primary children in the early 60s wearing a mix of uniforms and regular clothes. The uniforms we see the boys wearing cadet unifiorms with both short and long pants, but enforcement seems lax as many boys do not wear them. And perhaps a reflection of Japan's growing prosperity, the clothes look much more stylish than thosw worn in the 50s. Short pants seem to becoming increasingly common. For some reason the primary girls rarely wear uniforms, especially in the early years of the decade. By the end of the decade we see fewer boys wearing the Prussian cadet uniforms. Some schools began adopting uniforms based on European children's styles. We see some primary schools adopting a simple uniform, commonly white shirts and blue short pants. Some schools also had a blazer-like jacket witout lapels that the boys and girls wore. And some of the schools were very strict about wearing the uniform. We are not yet surehow common this was in the 60s. This would become much more common in the 70s. We are not yet sure about the girls, but by the 70s white blouses and suspender skirts became popular. There were color differences, but white and blue became very common.

Secondary Schools

Japan rapidly expanded its secondary school system after World War II. Unlike the primary schools, they remained mostly single-gender schools. And for the first time in the country's history. equal attention was being given to girls' education. Most secomdary schools had Prussian cadet uniforms for the boys and sailor dresses for the girls. Unlike the primary schools which generally shifted from single gender schools to coeducation, the secondary schools continued to be primarily single gender schools. The boys changed to long pants when they entered secondary school. This was almost universal. There were a variety of small diffrences from school to school. The basic style was the same, but there were a variety of minor differences. We are not sure to what extent the Ministry of Education determined this, but there was no single source. Sevceral companies made the uniforms and as result there were differences. And this was accented by hosiery abd footwear.

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Created: 11:12 PM 8/3/2011
Last updated: 11:13 PM 9/2/2011