Gakuran is the uniform for many middle-school and high-school boys in Japan. It has been the traditional boy’s uniform that came to existence since the early 20th century. In the current days, this traditional uniform had undergone modernization.
Let us take a deep look into the gakuran, which has also been a mainstay icon for most of your favorite animes and J-dramas.
Traits and Anatomy
The essential parts of a gakuran consists of a white shirt with a straight-lined dark jacket that isworn over it. Its color is normally black, but some schools use navy blue. It also has straight-lined trousers, always in a matching shade with the jacket. There is also the stand-up collar worn by buttoning up or hooking up to the throat. The jacket has a vertical alignment of metal buttons, usually in bronze or golden color.
Traditionally, the gakuran is worn with a matching student cap. However, the cap has been dropped as the days go by.
History
Gakuran was first adopted in Japan in 1879. It was derived from the Prussian cadet uniforms which became available because of modernization. The Tokyo Imperial University, the school for the imperial family and the noble class, adopted the school uniform with a stand-up collar and six years later, it was adopted by the Tokyo Teikoku University.
Origin
The “ran” in “gakuran” is an abbreviation of the Edo period slang word for Western clothing “randa”. “Randa” used to mean Western clothing, because during the period when Japan was isolated, the West was referred to as Holland (Horanda). Because of this, Western clothes were then called “ranfuku” (Holland-clothes). The “gaku” on the other hand, comes from the word, “gakusei,” which is the term used for students.
Gakuran Nowadays
While you can see gakuran worn by students in their everyday life, the gakuran has become the official costume of some of your favorite bishounens.
Yusuke Urameshi from “Yu Yu Hakusho”
Yusuke Urameshi is the main protagonist of the manga and anime series Yu Yu Hakusho. Yusuke often wore jeans, t-shirt, and white sneakers but he is mostly known for his use of the green gakuran clothes.
Kishidan
Kishida is a 6-member Japanese rock band created in 1997. They have a retro image and they wear bosozoku-styled gakuran and has become their signature clothes.
Nameneko
Nameneko are characters of cats by Japanese photographer Satoru Tsuda. He features real cats dressed in gakuran and arranged in cat-sized dioramas so they appear to be doing human activities like going to school.
Gender-Jumping Gakuran
The traditional girl’s uniform is called sailor fuku. But now, ladies can also wear a modified version of the gakuran. Village Vanguard created the gender-bending garment called Seishun Gakuran One-Piece. It is being pitched to women who never had the opportunity to wear a gakuran. Like the traditional gakuran, it has a conservative cut that covers most of the upper body.
Apparently, the gakuran has been another item, which, even though not originally Eastern, has been transformed into something truly Japanese.
Banner photo by kxz Chen. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Login with Google