Now to preface the actual event, it's worth explaining how Japan currently runs most of it's schools on a 'social' based model, in comparison to western societies which run on an 'individualism' model. What this means is that any activities and any school-related events are usually designed around, and encourage social unity. They encourage the group as opposed to the individual.
At first year of Junior High School, every student must join a club or sport. These clubs are run nearly every day after school meaning students are often at school until 6 or 7pm; on Saturdays and Sundays too. The idea being that it is not school work, but rather team work. Each team member must struggle through together. Tests and exams are seemingly intentionally stressful, which students seem to rally together to help eachother out and get through it together.
Cleaning the school every afternoon instead of cleaners. School wide songs or class wide projects. They're all there to get the students working together rather than on their own.
Whether by coincidence, or by design, it is really amazing how these students form such close bonds with each other. They go through so much together and experience so much together that all but the most alienated of students form close knit friendships and it really is incredible to see how it progresses throughout the year. If there is anything at all that I wish would have been different in my life so far, it would have been having a much more socially orientated school life. Whether by chance, or by design, these students all experience hardships together and evolve into young adults together.
Both the Individualism and the Socialism ideologies have their strengths and weaknesses, and to be honest, I don't know if you could culturally bring many of these features into a western school system. (Try getting Australian teenagers to sing pfft yeah right). But it has been a beautiful thing to witness and articulates a source of how Japan's society runs as a whole.
Here are some pictures of the school 'Culture Day'. These students have trained for months every day and on weekends. The quality of their performances could easily match what you'd go and pay to see. Truly astonishing.
The huge backdrop is made out of folded origami flowers.
Each year level sang a song together as part of a chorus competition.
School rock band.
The school orchestra was incredibly talented.
Each homeroom class also had to sing a song as part of the chorus competition. Some classes were fantastic while others were a bit out of tune but every class had their fingers and toes crossed when the competition results were announced. They worked hard!
Here's a video of some of the music they played and sung.
