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COLUMN: Graduation for Japanese students

The Hokkaido school year runs from April to March, so this is graduation time.
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Outside, the schoolyard remains under a thick blanket of snow. Inside, the hallways are a profusion of crepe paper carnations and origami cherry blossoms, interspersed with photos and messages of congratulations.

The Hokkaido school year runs from April to March, so this is graduation time.

As one whose graduation memories are associated with the longing for more functional air conditioning, I am once again disoriented.

However, even after eight months in Japan, disorientation is often my new normal.

This week we had the fourth earthquake that I have noticed during my time here. Nothing dramatic, just a minor waver followed by the sensation of mild seasickness.

An Internet search confirmed a 5.0 magnitude quake, 90 kilometres down, with the epicentre in the mountain range about 70 kilometres west of Toyokoro.

I don’t know whether to think of that as close or distant, or whether it matters.

The graduation ceremony for Toyokoro Junior High School is now complete.

It seems a way bigger deal than what I remember from Summerland Middle School, and there are a number of reasons for that. One is the Japanese love of formal ceremonies.

I am considering counting the number of bows at the next one I attend.

A quick estimate of this two-hour ceremony with 39 graduates, six speakers, three (lovely) choral performances, approximately 140 bows.

I think there were three full rehearsals during the preceding days.

The students were all in dress uniform.

School and district staff as well as the parent guests were in suits or dresses with jackets, with the exception of two beautiful women in kimonos.

The other major reason is that the transition from junior high (middle) school to high school is much more dramatic here.

In Summerland, almost all of the students from Summerland Middle School continue to Summerland Secondary School, although a few may transfer to Penticton.

In contrast, all of the Toyokoro students will be attending high school in new and larger communities.

About a third will attend high school in Ikeda, about 20 minutes away, but most of the rest will be traveling 45 minutes each way to as many as six different high schools in Obihiro.

A few will be going to specialized high schools as far away as Kushiro, a two-hour drive.

So for this group of 15-year-olds, most of whom have been together for nine or even 11 years, the graduation ceremony marked the end of an era and an important step toward adulthood.

And yes, along with the bows and the hugs and the photos, there were tears.

Janet Jory is in Summerland’s sister city of Toyokoro, Japan as the assistant English teacher.