Kyoto University’s decision to ban its long-standing tradition of graduation ceremony cosplay has been the subject of some concern amongst disappointed students and the wider Internet.
Kyoto University’s impending graduation ceremonies, due on the 24th, traditionally and quite famously involved plenty of gaudy cosplay, but the university has just banned the practice.
In light of the recent quake (none of the effects of which have been felt in Japan’s western half), the university warned graduating students that “you must refrain completely from any inappropriate costume or related activities, and celebrate your graduation in a solemn and dignified manner.”
Students who disobey the missive are in danger of being thrown out – “entry may be refused to the inappropriately dressed.”
As a long-standing and popular tradition peculiar to Kyoto University, there has been some disappointment and discontent about the cancellation expressed online amongst students and others:
“Our university tradition…”
“What’s the worth of the ceremony without cosplay!?”
“I find the fact they’d even send a mail like this pretty weird.”
The wider Internet (and lately a number of companies) is becoming increasingly concerned with the latest boom in “self-restraint” cancellations, not least when they affect regions hitherto unscathed by the quake and have negligible to non-existent benefits for those actually suffering:
“The people hit by the quake are unlikely to care whether they graduate normally or cosplay or whatever else.”
“If they don’t cosplay, will it help the quake victims?”
“It has nothing to do with any of that – let ’em do it!”
“This is a really bad trend…”
“Why are they cosplaying in their graduation ceremony? Are they idiots?”
“They only get to graduate once in their life so it’s quite sad really.”
“At least give them that… it’s an important memory and has nothing to do with the quake.”
“This year Hanami is also cancelled.”
“This spirit of cancelling everything in ‘self-restraint’ over the whole nation is really pointless. In fact it’ll only backfire… if you keep robbing people of their pleasures nobody will be able to recover.”
“How about forcing them all to wear Japanese clothes?”
BEST GRADUATION EVAR!
Well that sucks. Normally I wouldn’t care but school is Hell and celebrating the end of it is what REALLY matters.
I can see their point in wanting to keep things dignified. They don’t want other people saying ‘look they’re being disrespectful and silly while we’re working our butts off to recover!!(angry face and pitchforks)’. It’s silly, and stupid and peer pressure but that’s the way i see it.
What i’m wondering is how long this is going to go for. If they’ve let this form of celebration go on for so long one would imagine that they don’t have anything against it. Hopefully they don’t get so spooked that they cancel it all together.
Good on ‘m for sticking with the tradition for so long, though. I’m kinda disappointed that more Universities aren’t like this 😀
if only my high school graduation are like that….and now Kyoto University wants to ban that?! c’mon man! it’s their last day to have fun before facing the real world!!!!
I imagine the deans at Kyoto U have some big, self-praising speech lined up about how compassionate they are to the folks of East Japan, and they’ll spend a few hours patting themselves on the back for that. They’re worried their self-congratulatory seriousness will be hamstrung by men dressed up as lolis in the crowd. A lot of the graduates will already be lined up for a job as a salaryman before the ceremy. It’s a damn shame their fun college days can’t go out in style.