The Japanese School Bag Debate

My wife and I have been debating whether or not to buy our son, Rikuto, a traditional Japanese school bag. He won’t need one for another six years, but there’s no harm in planning ahead, right?

These bags are called randoseru, taken from the Dutch word for backpack (ransel), and are usually leather bags costing around $300.

Mami’s reasons for buying Rikuto a Japanese school bag

1. It’s tradition;
2. All the other children will have one;
3. Having a traditional school bag is a school rule;
4. It will last the full six years of elementary school.

My reasons against buying Rikuto a Japanese school bag

1. They are heavy;
2. They are expensive;
3. They are ugly;
4. Rikuto will look different from the other kids anyway, regardless of what kind of bag he has.

Using Google as an arbitrator in the Japanese school bag debate

The Google search engine is a wonderful tool for solving disputes. I tried to find something to contradict Mami’s third point about Japanese schools requiring such bags, but instead I found Kids Web Japan, a lovely looking website designed for children wanting to learn about the country.

The quiz section had all the information I could possibly want about Japanese school bags, and this quote was enough to make me regret our argument:

Once Japanese children become first graders, they all look forward to their parents buying their first bag.

Google rules in favor of buying a Japanese school bag

If Rikuto wants a Japanese school bag, and Mami wants to give him one, then I won’t stop her… even though I still think they are too heavy, ugly and expensive!

If you liked this post, please submit it to JapanSoc, StumbleUpon, or Digg, and if you haven't already, please subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks!