The Fukuoka Jo Gakuin Junior and Senior High School, a school for girls commonly known as Mission by the locals, is an institution rich in history and is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. The original establishment was founded in 1885 by missionary Jenny Gheer in Fukuoka’s Inaba-cho, now known as Tenjin 2-chome. It moved to Tenjin-machi in 1888 to occupy the only building with Western-style architecture in Fukuoka. The school is famous for being the first to introduce sailor-style uniforms in 1921. The headmistress at the time, Elizabeth Lee, came up with the idea because they facilitated physical movement.
While the story goes that they were the first to adopt the sailor-style uniforms, documentary evidence has been discovered stating that Heian Jogakuin St. Agnes’ School in Kyoto introduced a one-piece sailor uniform in 1920. Thus, to be precise, Fukuoka Jo Gakuin came up with the first sailor uniform with separate blouses and skirts. The students change from their navy blue winter uniforms to the summer uniforms on May 18th, the anniversary of their founding. These sky-blue gingham summer duds have short sleeves and are very popular with the students. When you see the sky-blue uniforms on the street, it’s an early sign that summer is approaching.
The school events on May 18th, the May Queen and the Maypole Dance, are another familiar sight for Fukuokans. The May Queen event is as its name suggests, and the student body selects the queen every year from among the second-year junior high school students. The other second-year students perform the Maypole Dance. Twenty-four streamers, half red and half white, are suspended from a 3.5-meter high metal pole. The students dance as they wrap the streamers individually around the pole. When they’re finished, the pole resembles a red and white trellis. The dance was originally a traditional custom in the West celebrating the coming of spring. The school began their own version of the dance in 1916 on the anniversary of their founding. This year, once again, the girls in gingham sailor uniforms will perform the Maypole Dance on May 18th—and anyone can come and watch!
Fukuoka Jo Gakuin Junior and Senior High School, 3-42-1 Osa, Minami-ku, Fukuoka
