Tokyo Schools Strike Off Bizarre Rules That Asked Students To Maintain Black Hair And Underwear Colour. Finally
School life often comes with a set of rules. A tool to maintain discipline, everything from school uniforms to neatly braided hair have been serving as staple norms for especially girls. But this latest news about Tokyo’s age-old school rules are surprising and we are thankful that they are now being shown the way out. But let’s first see what these rules exactly were? The Japanese capital for the longest time had implied a set of rules for around 200 public schools to follow. Known as Black Rules, the list included restrictions on dying hair colour, following a certain colour code for underwear, length of the female students’ skirts and even the recent rule, that restrained girls from tying a ponytail (which apparently excites men). Moreover, these schools often asked for a confirmation form from the students’ parents to know the actual style of their hair and assure they’ve not artificially curled or straightened it(now that’s too weird).
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Followed by schools ever since the early 1870s, the rules were declared outdated post a survey done in the regions around. The reason behind these black rules was supposedly to reduce violence amongst the student caused by bullying.
Also Read: Japanese Schools Ban Ponytails, Claim It ‘Sexually Excites’ Men. Why Are All The Rules For Women?
According to the Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun, 200 public high schools will be abolishing five major bizarre rules including the ‘two-block’ hairstyles and mandatory house arrests as punishments, and the renewed policy will be effective from April 1, 2022. The decision was announced after the results of a survey that was carried out in 240 schools called the rules outdated. Responding to the change, a member of the Tokyo metropolitan board of education said, “Although a wonderful effort, it is regrettable it took so long.”
These bizarre rules also remind me of the weird rules my school had regulated to maintain discipline. I mean, be it oiling your hair (which is too bad), compulsorily wearing folded braids incase you had long hair, not allowed to dress up in coloured clothes even on birthdays and wearing an Indian ethnic attire on special school events coz boys (I mean, can’t men just behave for once?), these schools would often make me think, what kind of discipline are they trying to maintain? While these rules still remain meri samajh ke bahaar, I’m happy they’ve finally been struck off in Tokyo.
First Published: March 17, 2022 8:08 PM
