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 Kojimachi
Middle School is a public school located in Chiyoda Ward, a district in
central Tokyo. This school is truly in the heart of the city. Its neighbors
include the Imperial Palace, high-rising hotels, the National Diet building
(where Japan's parliament meets), the National Diet Library, and the headquarters
of political parties. Almost all of the students commute to school by
train or bus.
Kojimachi Middle School has about 310 students in all. At one time, it had over 1,000 students, and there were nine classes in each of its three grades. But the number of people living in this commercial district has dwindled, and Japan's total population of children has dropped. Together, these trends have led to a decrease in the number of students at Kojimachi Middle School. Another characteristic of the school is that, like other schools in Chiyoda, it has far more male students than female students. Every school in Japan has its own school song and badge. Kojimachi's badge is shaped like a chrysanthemum. The school uniform is all black. Boys wear pants and jackets with stand-up collars, and girls wear blazers and skirts.
Photos: (right) The badge on Kojimachi Middle School
uniforms is shaped like a chrysanthemum. A chrysanthemum decorates the
school's building as well.
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Kojimachi
Middle School was established in 1947 on a site formerly occupied by
the home of Zenjiro Yasuda, founder of the Yasuda corporate group. Yasuda
was said to have sold his land to the school on the condition that the
buyers take care of the sago palm trees in the garden. The palms remain
standing today, at the school gates. The school buildings were built
in the 1940s and 1950s, and some of them are overgrown with ivy, which
gives one a sense of the school's 52-year history.
