The somewhat mundane adventures of a guy who keeps ending up in Asia... and his random musings.

Japanese school kids are given a special backpack upon entering grade school known as a randoseru. The word is borrowed from the dutch "ransel", although I would have been more partial to the German "rucksack" myself.

Anyway, one thing that most people notice is that all kids seem to have this exact same backpack. For once, this is completely correct. A randoseru is a very well constructed backpack that is meant to serve a child for the full six years of their primary education, and although many companies make these, they all follow the same basic design.

Here, take a look:



With little more than coloration and stitching variations, they all look like this. Exactly like this. For little first graders these seem very large, but once a child reaches sixth grade and is prepared to trade in for a more adult-like satchel or backpack (some schools have a "backpack code", others don't care how you shlep your books) the child is now much bigger and the randoseru seems much smaller. Many adults still have their old ones stored away someplace, a memory of their carefree days of youth.
*sigh*
In Japanese culture ceremony and tradition are considered extraordinarily important and followed to the letter. So far I have seen opening ceremonies, closing ceremonies, graduations and festivals, but the idea of a more physical tradition, such as the randoseru intrigued me. I asked my teachers at school. They remembered their own and mentioned a little about receiving it and being so proud, and being sad when they put it away for good... but then I asked about the design.
"Oh, they all look like that"
"Yes, I've noticed, but why that specific design?"
The answer was always the same, "I don't really know. It's just always been like that."
Well, that answer wasn't good enough for me. I continued to ask lots of people, getting the same answers each time, until I asked one of my vice-principles.
"Oh, it's a military design, from before the Second World War I think."
Huh? I did some research and it's true. This bag is only a slight variation from those carried by Japanese soldier back when they were allowed to have a standing army.
It's hard to find old photos of Japanese soldiers fully geared up and facing away from the camera, so take a look at this one:
 
 
You can see that the design elements are all basically the same. Materials (they used heavy canvas back then and leather now) and the cross-strap design are all that have really changed.

Take a look again:

See that superfluous metal thing on the side? It can be used for a key-holder or whatever a creative child can think of, but it's real purpose was that of grenade holder. The Japanese used the same stick type grenades employed by the Germans, so a hook made for safely carrying the weapon was attached. I have seen many of my grade schoolers using this in many ways, the best of which was to carry their kendama, a ball and stick game.

It's a little scary to think that these innocent bags now used for carrying tomes of knowledge were once a part of one of the most ruthless war machines in history. But then again, these bags humbled to the point of servicing children is also a kind of redeeming sight... it's akin to seeing a munitions factory shut down and a large public park being built in its stead.

Maybe there is hope for us yet.

-Maru!

I should add that in my research I found evidence for this design originating in the Netherlands, hence the Dutch name, but I still find it amazing that just prior to its use as a school accessory it was enlisted.