Randoseru

Randoseru at a school
A premium 84,000 yen (about $938 or €530) randoseru made of cordovan on sale at Mitsukoshi department store in January 2008

A randoseru (ランドセル) is a firm-sided backpack made of stitched firm leather or leather-like synthetic material, most commonly used in Japan by elementary schoolchildren. Traditionally it is given to a child upon beginning their first year of school, whereupon the child uses the same bag until grade 6. The term is borrowed from the Dutch ransel or German Ranzen meaning "backpack".[1][2][3]

A similar system is used in Western schools. However, compared to Japanese randoseru, such as Schulranzen [de] from Germany and Boekentas [nl] from the Netherlands, many of them are simpler and lighter in material.

  • Two sisters wearing pink randoseru. One of them with a yellow plastic cover.
    Two sisters wearing pink randoseru. One of them with a yellow plastic cover.
  • Two young girls with red randoseru, 2019.
    Two young girls with red randoseru, 2019.
  • Boy with black randoseru, 2018.
    Boy with black randoseru, 2018.
  1. ^ "ランドセル - Weblio辞書". www.weblio.jp (in Japanese). GRAS Group. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  2. ^ "ランドセルの意味 - goo国語辞書". goo辞書 (in Japanese). NTT Resonant Inc. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  3. ^ Rich, Motoko; Hayashi, Noriko (2024-07-15). "The Book Bag That Binds Japanese Society". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-16.