Five years ago today…
Nothing is more cheery than Japanese cherry blossoms this time of year, nothing that is except sakura AND a couple dozen kindergartners.
Posts tagged kids
Little Japanese Girl
Japanese girl in kimono at shrine – 1950s – Kokura (Kitakyushu), Japan
Another photo today from my father’s collection of slides… If this beautiful, little girl is still alive today (2013) she is about 62-years old.
Japanese ballerinas
My random photo of the day is of this ballet festival in Tokyo. For more photos from this event click here.
Little Japanese Girl
In early December fall colors can still be seen on the trees and on the ground in Tokyo. Today’s photo was taken at Nezu Jinja.
幼稚園入園式
If you can read Japanese, you already know what this photo is about. If you can’t, try and guess. A funeral? A wedding? But why all the kids? I’ll give you a hint, I took this photo in April. Still not getting it?
April is when school starts in Japan. This is the first day of school at a Japanese kindergarten. And the first day of school for these four- and five-year olds is a huge deal. Just getting accepted to some Japanese kindergartens is a big deal. One of my Japanese friends paid tens of thousands of yen for a kindergarten prep-school for her three-year old daughter so that she could get into a good kindergarten. Crazy right? This is not a rare occurrence. If you see a Japanese mom with a three- or four-year old, both dressed to the T, in a train station in Japan the odds are very good that they are on their way to, or from, one of these kindergarten prep schools.
幼稚園入園式 = yochiennyuenshiki = Kindergarten Entrance Ceremony
