Whether regulating the length of the socks or the color of the underwearJapanese schools are infamous for their strict laws regarding what students can and cannot wear. The prohibition of a hairstyle is just one of many rules found in what is known as the “buraku kosoku“. The long list of restrictions also imposes the color of underwear and socks, the length of skirts and the shape of eyebrows. Hair color is another point of contention: some schools require students to show proof of the nature and color of their hair (only if the latter is not black and straight) And recently, it is the very hairstyle of the pupils which is about all the attention.
Many schools ban ponytails
there is no national statistics on the number of schools which still ban ponytails, but a 2020 survey indicates that about one in ten schools in the prefecture of Fukuoka (south of the country) prohibits this hairstyle.
Motoki Sugiyamaa former college professor, recently declared on behalf of our colleagues from VICE that the school administrators explained to her that girls should not wear ponytails because exposing their necks could “sexually excite” male students. More precisely, the old teacher says :
They are afraid of boys staring at girls, which is similar to the reasoning behind maintaining a white underwear-only color rule. I have always criticized these rulesbut since there is a big lack of criticism and it has become normal over time, the students have no choice but to accept them.
Mr. Sugiyama taught for 11 years in five different schools in Shizuoka Prefecture, about 150 km southwest of Tokyo, all of which have banned ponytails. He gave himself for personal mission to denounce these unreasonable demands placed on students. It must be said that the code buraku kosoku, which we told you about earlier and which brings together all these directives, dates back to the 1870s, when the Japanese government fixed its education system. The rules in question have become more restrictive between the 1970s and 1980sparticularly in order to combat the skyrocketing harassment and bullying.
Most of these directives are currently being debated, and several voices are raised to try to understand why a bowl cut, which reveals the nape of the neck, is authorized, when a ponytail is not. It remains to be seen whether, over time, these guidelines will evolve. And if you want to learn more about Japanese culture, you can check out our previous article which looks back at 40 proofs that Japan is not a country like the others.