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There are some garments that are not precisely uniform garments. They are worn at both uniform and non-uniform schools. Many non-uniform schools have the children wear brightly colored caps. At sime scools they are presented to the children on the first day of school when the teachers go over safety precautions with the children. These brightly colored caps are most common at non-uniform schools. Uniform schools are more likely to have blue or white caps to match their uniforms. The syles of the brightly colored caps vary, but baseball caps are very poplar. Another garment worn at all schools are slippers. When the children arrive at school, they take off their shoes and put on slippers. This is a common practice in the home as well and of course helps to keep the school clean. As far as we know the slippers are not uniform styles. We see children wearing a wide range of colors and styles. They are worn at both uniform and non-uniform schools.
We notice that many Japanese schools that did not require uniforms, did have the children wear stamdardized caps. Here the style of the caps varied. We notice that turned down swabie caps were a popular style. I'm not sure what these caps were called in Japanese. we also notice baseball caps being worn. Colors varies. Brightly colored caps were often required for younger children to make them nore visible to motorists. Most schools only required the bright colors for the younger children, but the older children at some schools also wore them. We note many schools requiring blue caps. There were several other cap styles and even a rounded crown hat that were worn, but these styles seem more common at schools requiring uniforms.
The sweater became a popular garment at non-uniform schools during chilly weather. They were not worn before Japanese children began the transition to Western dress in the eearly-20th century. It is after World War II that we niotice krge numbers od children wering sweaters to school. We begin to see this promently in the 1950s. At first it was boys more than the girls wearuing sweatrers. We notice many different types of sweaters, both button-up cardigans and pull overs. We also notice solid-colored and patterened sweaters.
Japanese children did not wear Western shirts until the 20th century. Boys and girls wore kimonos and because they were almost always closed in available photography, we have no idea what they were wearing underneath. As part of the Meiji Reformation, Japan bergan building a modern-Western-style school system (1870s). The children at firsr continued to mostly wore the traditional kimonos. We first see shirt-like garmenta as Japanese childen began moving to western-style garments in the rarely-20th century, especially fter Wirld war I in the 1920s. This was for general as well as schoolwear. At first we see mostly see white shirts and blouses. This was at both uniform and non-uniform schools. This began to change after World II in the 1950s. White shirts and bloses were still common, but we begin to see colored and ptterned shirtsin the non-uniform primary schools. We almost always see white shirts at the uniformed priimary schools. The secondary schools were different. Almost all secondary schools, state and private, required uniforms. The boys mostly wore Prussuan-styled cadet jackets that buttoned at the coolar. The girls woire sailor blouses and dresses. Thus shirts and bloses were not an important part of the uniform. The conventioina at the secondary schools continue in the 21st century, despote a few changing to British-styled blazers and white shirts are worn
Japanese primary school boys mostly wore short pants. We see this in the early 20th century when school children began waring western clothing instead of traditional garments. We see many boys before World war II wearing simple uniforms with a military look. The shorts were knee-length. After world War II we begin to see more European-styled clothes. The shorts worn gradually became very short. A popular garment at non-uniform schools were very-short cut jeans. They were called Hanzubon. This literally meant, half-pants. They are traditional snug, short, short pants (usually implies young boys' shorts only). The most common type werejean shorts, but the were noy necesarily done in denim. They weee very popular during the 1960s-80s. The shorts began to become longer in the 1990s and we see more boys wearing long pants. Japanese boys still commonly wear shorts to school, but they are more like the longer-cut shorts worn in America.
Uulike the West, it was not very common for Japanese children to go barefoot. We see most Japanese children wearing wooden geta sandals. It was these wooden sandals that were common. And they were commonly worn with split-toe tabi socks--almost always wuite. Here we are primarily going on he photographiuc record which is fairly sparce for the 19th century. We know much more about the 20th century. As Japanse children tansitioned to Western clothing and photography became populr, we know much more. We mostly see boys wearing dark ankle socks before World War II. During cool weather children often wore long stockings on a seasonl basis. Here gender was a factor. For girls modesty was a fctor for long stockings. After the war hosiery became more varied. We see both dark socks and white socks. The darl socks were often blue. We note both ankle socks and knee socks. Some younger children in the 1960s began wearting tights rather than long stockings. The associatedf conventions were the same. Tights were not availblke earlier for children. As with long stockings, cool wether was the primary reason for long stockings, for girls, erspecuially older girlds, modesty was a modesty was a factor. Both boys and girls wore them, with boys they were mostly worn by younger boys. Knee socks, especiallu white knee socks, in the west are commonly seen as a dressy look. This does not seem to have been the case in Japan. We do see knee socks worn at uniform schools, but we also see them worn at the non-uniform schools. We even see boys weating jean shorts with white knee socks.
Japanse children wore a variety of footwear to school. We do not see many shoes in the 19th century. We have little infgirmation about the early-19th cenhtyry, byt by the late-19th century we see the children mostly wearing
trditional wooden geta sandals. They are best described as wooden platform sndals. Economics was a factor here. Woodensandals were much less expensiuve than leather shoes. Geta sandals continued to be prevalebt in the early-20th century. Gradually see more Japanese children switching to shoes. We are not entirely sure why, it seems to be part of a general shift to western clothing. But practiclity may have been a factor. It is difficult to see how boys in particular could run and play in the geta and other sandals. Sneakers became very common, but not universal at both unifirm and non-uniform schools. e think this wa becaise both of practicality and cost. Uniform schools often allowed more varisnce in footwear and hosiey than in other apects of the uniform. A few schools were struct even with these grments, but many were not as strict with these two garments. Along with seneakers we for some reason the leatherv hoes wee see the boys eearing are slip on styles, often called loafers in the sttes. These loafers after World war II were much more common than lace-up shoes that we see in Europe and America. We do not see, hoever, the penny loafers thart were popular in Ameruca. Also we note that leather shoes were mostly blckm broen and bron shades like cordovan are rarely seen. this is difficult to see before and riggt fter world War II, but readily apparent as color phitography became common in the 1970s.
Another garment worn at all schools are slippers. I am not sure if slippers is the best English-language term. Perhaps we should say soft or indoor shoes. The Japanese term is "uwabaki"
I an not sure just when they were introduced. When the children arrive at school, they take off their shoes and put on slippers. This is a common practice in the home as well and of course helps to keep the school clean. As far as we know the slippers are not uniform styles. We see children at some uniform schools with different uwabaki. Some schools may have established iniform styles and colors that are acceptable, but we have no details at this time. Perhaps that many uwabaki are standard enough that many schools have not found this nececessary. There are, however, some differebnces anong uwabaki. We see children wearing a wide range of colors and styles. They are worn at both uniform and non-uniform schools. The children have their designated shoe lockers; like the shoe lockers in houses. These shoe lockers are called getabako.
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