Figure 1.--Here we see Prince Naruhito graduating from his pre-school (March 1966). The children wore black Eton jackets with red piping and white collars. The boys had Eton collars, the girls larger Peter Pan collars. We are unsure why some of the children seem so unhappy. Notice that some of the mothers wear traditional kimonos, but the Crown Princess wears Jacki Kennedy style suit complete with pearls.

Prince Nauruhito attended a pre-school. There may have been two pre-schools, a nursery school and a Kindergarten. We do not yet have the details on this. We notice two uniforms, both a pink smock and an Eton suit. These could be different uniforms worn at the same school or two different schools. We just do not know for sure. Some shots look like a nursery dschool while others more like a kindergarten. We are not sure just when he began pre school, but notice imahes in 1964 when he would have been 4-years old. We think he attended at age 5 years and graduated at age 6 years. His pre-school had a little more elaborate uniform than most Japanese pre-schools, but it is quite common for pre-schools to have uniforms. We do not yet have details on the school or his experiences there. We do have a photograph of the graduation ceremonies (March 1966). The children wore black Eton jackets with red piping and white collars. The boys had Eton collars, the girls larger Peter Pan collars.

Pre-school Uniform

Prince Nauruhito's pre-school had a required uniform. All the children wore it with only minor variation. The many photographs taken of Prince Nauruhito provide a great deal of information about the uniform items worn in pre-school. The primaru item was a pink smock which all the the children, both boys and girls, wore during the day. Many schools had different colors for the boys and girls. The children at the Prince's school all wore pink. They only took the smocks off for sports. Other items included dark blue hats, blouses (collars varied by gender), suspender shorts for the boys and skirts for the girls. Hosiery varied as did footwear, but to a esser extent.

Hats

The children had a dark blue hat with a narrow brim. It was a sodt cap with a rounded crown. Some of the children turned up part of the brim. The hat had a chin strap, but the children did not normally use it. The hat was worn with the smock, but apparently not with the dress up Eton suit.

Pink Smock

We are not sure just when Prince Nauruhito began pre school, but notice images in 1964 when he would have been 4-years old. Nor do we know the name of the school. This seems a like age to begin pre-school. We note several pre-schools thst used smocks for a uniform. Often it was blue smocks for the boys and pink smocks for the girls. Here all the children wear pink smocks. We are not sure if the smocks were just orn at schools as an everyday unifrm or if they had a more formal uniform as well. They had blue hats to go with the smocks. Notice the diplomas and flower botinaires.

Blouses

The blouse was worn with both the mock and the Eton jackets. Much if the uniform was the same for boys and girls. The hat and smock was the same. The blouse was, however, different. The basic differebce was the size. The girls wore blouses with large Peter Pan collars. The boys theoretically wore blouses with smamm ponted Eton collars. A few boys had small Peter Pan collars. The size of the collar seems to have been the most important factor.

Suspender shorts

The boys wore black or charcoal grey suspender shorts under their pink smocks. The girls wore pleated suspender skirts. You do not normally see this as modt of the available images show the children wearing their smocks. This was the protective garment the children wore while at school. Only for sports are expositiins like dancing do the children take off their smocks. The exception here was when the children dressed up for special occassions and when wearing their Eton jackets.

Hosiery

Hosiery varied. Here the school was not very strict, except that the hosiery had to be black. We see the children wearing ankle socks, knee socks, and tights. Prince Naruhito seems to have normally worn knee socks. He may have worn tights during the winter when the weather got cold. Here we are not sure. We do note white socks for sports and exhibitions.

Footwear

The children wore white sneakers. Mostly it was the sneakers done like strap shoes. Many Japanese schools had these shoes which might be called slippers. They put them on when they arrived at school. These shoes were worn at school. We also notice the children wearing leather shoes and sandals outdoors. This was a little unusual as sneakers were so common in Japan. The girls common wore strap shoes. The boys more commonly wore sandal;s or oxfords. We note Prunce Mauruhito wearing strap shoes.

Activities

We see the childen wearing their pink smocks at school for a range of classroom activities and for outings. These include all the normal pre-school activities preparing the children for prtimary school. Of course a lot of play is mixed into the pre-school learning experiences. The children learn about shapes, colors, letters, and numbers. And they learn how to behave as a group and in a classroom. One interesting activity unique to Japan was learning to bow, a polite act in Japanese society.

Graduation: Eton Suit

We think Prince Naruhito attended pre-school at age 5 years and graduated at age 6 years. We do not jnow the name of the school. This pre-school or perhaps a Kindergarten had a little more elaborate uniform than most Japanese pre-schools, but it is quite common for pre-schools to have uniforms. We do not yet have details on the school or his experiences there. We do have a photograph of the graduation ceremonies (March 1966). The children wore black Eton jackets with red piping and white collars. The boys had Eton collars, the girls larger Peter Pan collars. At least we think that was the convention. One child with the large Peter Pan collar looks like a boy. Here they wear white strap sneakers. Other image show black shoes. The children wore black abklesocks, knee socks, and tights. This may have been their dress uniform. We are not sure what they wore at schooll for every day. We notice them wearing the uniform here for field trips.

Created: 8:41 PM 5/22/2009
Last updated: 6:53 PM 10/20/2009