Well, the new school year has started in Japan. Japan is one of the few countries around the globe that starts their school year in the spring. Generally, this occurs sometime between the 1st and the 12th of April with the end of the school year coming in the third week of March.
At one time during the past year, the Japanese government contemplated changing this system to match the rest of the world but it was decided that the change would be too costly at a time when Covid-19 has made funds for such things relatively scarce. But this does not stop us from following on with our studies and sharing ideas and information from around the globe.
The 2021-2022 school year in Japan begins while the cherry blossoms are blooming, truly marking the time of year as a new beginning, with many students and their families normally taking pictures with the blooming cherry or “Sakura” trees as a backdrop. This year, the blooms were quite early and many students put their uniforms on early in order to get these cherished photos for their school life. Also, one change from a normal year is the absence of one or both parents from the school ceremonies. But then this school year is anything but normal in Japan as well as in the other countries around the world. Each country has their own way of approaching the pandemic, and Japan has done so with a lot of reserve and reluctance to completely shut down. You can see the signs of this each day as the children either walk to school, or board trains, buses and bicycles for their trips to school.
The cherry blossoms in Japan which are the same type found in Washington D.C. book generally from mid March until the second week of April. These blossoms are distinctly pink in color and when they are done blossoming, fall like a wild snow storm of pink around the country. Many of them trees are found along minor waterways and drives, where people can take their time viewing the trees. The tradition of “Hana Mi” or “Flower Watching” is one in which the people sit around, on large blue tarps enjoying food and drink while also enjoying the fragrance and the view of the large trees with beautiful blossoms on them.
The trees found in Washington D.C. were a gift to the American people by the Mayor of Tokyo, Mr. Yukio Ozaki, on March 27, 1912, and these days are the source of some truly beautiful blooms, heralded by people far and wide each year. There are many other places this type of cherry tree can be found including at Sydney Glen Elementary School, in Port Orchard, Washington. They have about a dozen trees around their campus that were gifted to them by a local Japanese owned arboretum when the school was built.
There are many such connections between Japan and the US these days with students from each country attending school in the other. Although the languages are different, many of the interests are very similar and you will find that the students in Japan are just as interested in the things in America just as much as American students are interested in the things from Japan.
Traditions are very deep in Japan and many of the beginning and ending ceremonies show such traditions in full living color. You will see many of the tradition speeches by the Principles of the schools or the Dean of the universities but what you also see is a lot of empty seats. But thankfully, this is allowing all students to attend and go through the normal ceremonies without missing the important parts of their educations.
As you end your school year in other countries, what kind of traditions mark the start of your year or the end of it? This is something I am sure not many students think much about until the actual events, but if you do have such a thing, be sure and share them with the other students around the world.
