Graduation Day

March 1st is the day that, all across Japan, public high schools hold their graduation ceremonies. As you might expect, they are very formal occasions. Everyone dresses in their finest threads, including kimonos. Students, however, just wear their regular uniforms but the graduates follow the American tradition of throwing up their caps at the end. There's no class song or valedictorian/saludatorian speeches, but there are plenty of other speeches, lots of standing up, sitting down, and bowing, bowing, and more bowing.

The ceremony takes place in the school gym, which is usually absolutely freezing on March 1st. This year, fortunately, it wasn't so cold. The ceremony itself is about an hour and a half. Then, much to the surprise of some people unaware of this special tradition at my high school, the graduating seniors "storm the stage" and take over entertaining everyone present in a wild display of comedy, music, dancing, and magic. The sudden switch is a bit shocking... but in a way, it is very Japanese. Things are never really how they seem from the outside. This picture of the boys singing is one of the more "tame" examples. Check out a wilder scene of boys dancing on the stage at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8467829410754857051. Please note the very sober audience- if this were a concert, people would be bouncing along, but no one- especially the teachers whose heads you can see- know quite how to react to this whole graduate performance thing.

After the ceremony, students go to their homeroom class and they have one last pow-wow with their parents and homeroom teachers. More speeches and tears followed. But then....after many rigid years of the Japanese education system, they are finally FREE!

I waited with some of English club members to give flowers to those from our club who were graduating. Students were milling all around in the hallways, taking pictures, signing yearbooks, in very festive moods.

Outside the school, their club activity "kouhei" (juniors) are waiting. (Each club's members kind of forms a mini-circle and serenades their senior, presents them with gifts like flowers, cards, etc.) Each club has its own way of saying goodbye as well as initiating newer members. For example, the boys tennis club that is shown, show their respect with a shaving-cream pie-in-the-face for the seniors. The baseball club (also shown) makes all the first-year students do "cosplay" (dress up as maids, etc.) and do other similarly embarassing things.... The rugby club also had its own "hazing" going on. I saw a student drink a whole bottle of Tabasco sauce. Ay, ay! There were also some students running around in nothing but diapers.

Things at my school definitely get a bit crazy on graduation day, but it's probably a release they need from all the studying. It makes most of the other teachers a little nervous- after all, this doesn't really fit our "traditional" school image- but there's nothing they can do... graduation is really about the students. And tomorrow it will be back to classes as usual for the students who are still here, as if none of this craziness ever happened.