Bowed Out: A Tale of Two Graduation Ceremonies

Today is the first day of spring break and while I may bemoan the fact that I still have to come in to work every day, unlike some other ALTs, one upside is ample time to write about my many (mis)adventures over the last eight months. Wow! Has it really been that long? This post is all about Japanese graduation ceremonies, which I will endeavor to make as interesting as possible.


Graduation time as a general concept is no different than anywhere else. It’s a time to reflect on your school days, bid tearful goodbyes, and take lots of pictures. The ceremony itself, however, is quite a bit different than I remember my high school or college graduations being. Granted, there are several similarities, such as a farewell speech by the principal. There are also speeches by members of the PTA, the head of the school board, a representative for the parents, and a few others whose jobs were unclear to me.

The auditorium for both graduations I went to was set up in exactly the same way. On the right side looking out from the podium was a long table and chairs for the teachers, on the left a similar set up for the distinguished guests. Between them, starting from the front were the graduating class, the rest of the school, and finally the parents. Before the ceremony officially begins, the graduating class marches in to the thunderous applause of every student, teacher, guest, and parent and down the center of the room. They stand in front of their chairs until every student is present and then all of them sit down at the same time.

Every graduation officially starts with the vice principal of the school standing up, walking to the front of the auditorium, bowing to the teachers, bowing to the guests, walking up to the stage, bowing to the flag, approaching the podium, and bowing to the audience before announcing that the [year] [school] graduation ceremony has begun, and repeating the entire process in reverse. This sets the pace for every person who walks up to the stage. That’s eight bows per speech! You’re expected to return bows in your direction, meaning four bows for the teachers and guests and two for the students and parents. Sorry if it seems like I’m harping on this and I mean no disrespect to the tradition, but it does eat up a lot of time and is a rather large facet of the ceremony that is well worth mentioning.

Next, for my schools at least, was the presentation of certificates. These are handed out by the principal of the school with the assistance of another teacher, which has been a woman in both ceremonies I’ve attended though this may only be coincidental. Each student steps up onto the stage and faces the audience (only the first once bows to the teachers and guests as a representative of the whole class.) Their name is announced by their homeroom teacher and the student answers with an emphatic “Hai!” before turning and approaching the podium. They bow, receive their diploma, take a step back, and wait for the next student to come over before both bowing, one student steps off the stage while the next is approaching the podium.

After all students have received their diplomas, it’s speech time. As previously mentioned, there are a lot of these and from what little Japanese I could pick up on, they follow themes one would expect for a graduation ceremony. It is interesting to note here that, while members of the PTA may well have not changed, my schools’ principals and teachers almost assuredly have (see japanpenguin.blogspot.com`s entry on musical teaching positions to find out why) and yet they still make these grand speeches about the students’ school career as a whole. Something about that just strikes me as a bit off. The last speech, the one from the parents, is specifically for the teachers, which made me feel good.

Next is the best part: singing time! The graduating students all turn their chairs around to face the rest of the school. The other students sing a song to their departing senpai, the graduating students sing a song back, then turn their seats back around. My elementary school did something extra by having small groups of 1st-5th graders stand and say something about every graduating student, like that they were good at soccer or were a member of a certain club. Both ceremonies ended with the singing of the school song and another round of applause as the graduating students left the auditorium.

There’s so much more I could write about graduation time: the music played in stores, the gifts, the parties, but I think I’ve written enough for one post. Until next time, thanks and gig ‘em!