School uniforms in Japan

The majority of Japan's junior high and high schools require students to wear school uniforms. Female Japanese school uniforms are noted for their sailor aesthetics, a characteristic adopted in the early 20th century to imitate the popular Sailor dress trend occurring in Western nations. The aesthetic also arose from a desire to imitate military style dress, particularly in the design choices for male uniforms. These school uniforms were introduced in Japan in the late 19th century, replacing the traditional kimono. Today, school uniforms are common in many Japanese public and private schools. The Japanese word for the sailor style of uniform is seifuku (制服).

The usage of School uniforms in Japan began in the mid-19th century. Previously, students wore standard everyday clothes to school: kimono for female students, with hakama for male students. During the Meiji period, students began to wear uniforms modelled after Western dress.

In the 1880s female students wore Western dress, but this came to be considered impractical. Utako Shimoda, a women's activist, educator and dress reformer, found traditional kimono to be too restrictive. She argued that the Kimono prevented women and girls from moving and taking part in physical activities, thus harming their health. While western dress was being adopted at the time, she also believed corsets to be restrictive and also harmful to women's health. Utako Shimoda had worked as lady-in-waiting to Empress Shōken from 1871 to 1879. She adapted the clothing worn by ladies-in-waiting at the Japanese imperial court, which included hakama, to make a uniform for her Jissen Women's University. During the Meiji period (1868–1912) and the following Taishō period (1912–1926), other women's schools also adopted the hakama. It became standard wear for high schools in Japan, and is still worn by many women to their university graduations.

During the Taishō period, male students began to wear gakuran (matching black trousers and a tunic with a standing collar and five gold buttons, and geta). These, apart from the footwear, are still worn today.

The 1920s saw the introduction of European/American-style naval uniforms, called serafuku in Japanese. The idea was taken from scaled-down sailor suits worn by children coming from royal European families, while also drawing inspiration from American female sailor dresses that had been a popular trend amongst the Youths of America in the early 20th Century. It was relatively easy to sew and thus was easily adopted in the country. Fukuoka Jo Gakuin University adopted the serafuku in 1921, while evidence suggests Heian Jogakuin University may have adopted the serafuku as early as 1920.

During World War II, student uniforms became militarised and were altered to accommodate the fact that schoolgirls were being drafted as factory workers to replace men who had gone to the front lines. Wearing skirts was deemed impractical and so loose slacks known as Mompe (a traditional Japanese farming outfit) were issued as alternatives. Students were also required to wear large name tags (na-fuda) bearing their name, address, and blood type for emergency identification. Additionally, head-protecting cushions (boku-zukin) were distributed to prepare for air raids.

Following World War II and the Occupation of Japan by the United States, many schools adopted a more Western-patterned Catholic school uniform style. Compulsory education was extended to include junior high school, and public schools were required to become coeducational. With the establishment of numerous junior high schools nationwide, uniforms for boys and girls were altered. While most public junior high schools retained the traditional gakuran for boys and sailor uniforms for girls, some parents and educators felt uncomfortable with these uniforms' military associations. Seeking a more “peaceful” image, certain schools adopted uniforms inspired by those from abroad. The introduction of the blazer, especially in urban areas, became increasingly popular. Additionally, the advent of synthetic fabrics allowed for the production of durable, colourful uniforms at lower costs, fostering greater variety.

Many home economics classes in Japan up until the 1950s gave sewing sailor outfits as assignments. Girls sewed sailor outfits for younger children in their communities.