Today’s Question
On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: Why do students in Hamamatsu City have to wear white underwear?
Topics Discussed
- School rules concerning the color of a student’s underwear
- The story of one student who ended up having to go bra-less after it was found that she was not wearing white underwear during a school trip
- Some of the reasons given for why most junior high students in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture must wear white underwear in school
- The peculiar indoor/outdoor school uniform system used by most junior high schools in Hamamatsu
- The justifications offered by some proponents of strict school rules
- And much more!
Note: During the episode it is not made clear when exactly the inquiry into the school rules of Hamamatsu City’s public junior high schools began According to this article this all seems to date back to December of 2019 when a local group focusing on issues affecting transgender individuals communicated with at least one city council member (a detailed timeline is not provided in the article). Also, it should be pointed out that the group focusing on transgender issues is called toransugendā kenkyū-kai in the article and not toransugendā-kai.
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Sources, Links, Videos, Etc.
Here are the two Japanese-language articles cited in this episode.
- Twitter禁止、彼氏がいたら先生に報告、白い下着以外禁止…時代錯誤な「ブラック校則」なぜ生まれる？ (June 2, 2020)
- 「下着は白限定」の理由は”体操着規定”にあった 浜松市立中学ブラック校則【現地取材】 (August 18, 2020)
Use the link below to listen to episode 23 of Ichimon Japan.
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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.
- Kōsoku
- 校則 【こうそく】 (n) school regulations
- Gakuran
- 学ラン : 学ラン; 学らん; 学蘭 【がくラン(学ラン); がくらん(学らん,学蘭)】 (n) (col) school uniform for boys, often with stand-up collar, long jacket and loose trousers
- Taisōfuku
- 体操服 【たいそうふく】 (n) gym uniform; track suit
- Papakatsu
- パパ活 【パパかつ】 (n) (sl) compensated dating; dating a sugar daddy
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
Opening/Closing Theme: Produced by Apol (YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Fiverr)
Ichimon Japan cover art: Produced by Erik R.
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Full Show Notes
