Explore everyday life in Japan

Okurukai

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Now it is March, and in Japan that means that large numbers of students across the country are graduating.

Soon they will be saying goodbye to their elementary schools, their junior high schools, their high schools, their colleges, and their universities. Soon they will be saying goodbye to the teachers who have helped them and made an impact on them over the past three years or more. Soon they will be saying goodbye to the students in the lower grades with whom they have shared many school experiences. Soon they will be saying goodbye to the surroundings and environments they have become so accustomed to, and the activities which they have done there. Soon, junior high school and high school students will even be saying goodbye to many of their good friends and classmates as they prepare to split up and go to different high schools and universities across the country where they will continue further down their individual paths toward the various futures that await them.

In many Japanese schools, these goodbyes aren’t taken lightly. They are surrounded by form and ceremony, both of which help to not only create unity among students but also help to bring a meaningful and formal close to what are considered significant and formative years in Japan.

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The Okurukai

The okurukai is a sending off ceremony that many elementary and junior high schools (but not all) have for students who will be moving on to the next level of their education. When done well, it is one of the most moving ceremonies I have ever seen.

Students from each grade level work together with teachers to create skits, dances, and performances that celebrate and honor the senior students of their school while recreating some of the memories they have all shared over the past one to four years. Slide shows with pictures of the graduating students from their first to almost last days of school are made and set to music. Gifts, often in the form of letters and poster cards are made and exchanged. And the senior students are paraded into and out of the gym, either individually or in pairs, to music and grand applause.

What I find to be one of the most touching and incredible parts of the ceremony is that it is almost entirely created by, orchestrated, and implemented by students. At the elementary school level, students run the P.A. and sound system. They click through the slideshows. They make speeches and announcements. At the junior high school level, the brass band members flawlessly perform songs of their choosing. Members of the student council introduce videos and slide shows that have been arranged and edited by the students themselves. Entire grades of students perform songs that they have practiced and choreographed largely on their own.

The okurukai really illustrates the value that is placed on concepts like unity and respect in Japan, respect not just for the present, but for the memories of the past as well. It reveals what I think is the true purpose of the Japanese educational system, and that is to raise socially bonded and united citizens. Whereas western educational systems tend value the individual over the group and tend to champion creative thinking and intellectual problem solving, the Japanese educational system, in my opinion, places more value on the importance of social interactions and harmony.

Each system has good points and bad points, and this post isn’t trying to weigh one educational system against another. It is merely a light introduction to something called an okurukai, which is a ceremony that I think all students in any school around the world could benefit from.

Note: Unfortunately, I don’t have any photographs of an actual okurukai, so I’ve included some examples of the chalkboard art that is commonly found in Japanese schools just before graduations.

Image Credits: All images in this post are original.

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This is an ongoing series that will explore various aspects of daily life in Japan. My hope is that this series will not only reveal to its followers, image by image, what Japan looks like, but that it will also inform its followers about unique Japanese items and various cultural and societal practices. If you are interested in getting regular updates about life in Japan, please consider following me at @boxcarblue. If you have any questions about life in Japan, please don’t hesitate to ask. I will do my best to answer all of your questions.

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