Speaking of April 1st, the entrance ceremony comes to mind.  And cherry blossoms.  I have a vague memory, but the entrance ceremony for the elementary school was certainly April 1st.  I faintly remember taking a picture with my mother under a cherry tree.  I hear that most of the recent entrance ceremonies are on April 7th or 8th, and by this time, cherry blossoms should be scattered in many areas.  It was also in March that we sent the news of the university’s acceptance announcement by telegram as “Sakurasaku” and “Sakurachiru”.  The first modern school system in Japan, called “Gakusei (the school system)”, started in 1872 (Meiji 5).  Thirty years later, in 1900 (Meiji 33), the entrance season for Japan was unified, and the entrance ceremonies for many schools were April 1.  Until then, the entrance ceremonies were scattered, in September and May, etc.  In the world, enrollment in September is the mainstream, and recently, there is a movement in Japan to enroll in universities in September.  By the way, the neighboring South Korea is in March, China is in September, Singapore is in January, and so on.

４月１日といえば咄嗟に思い浮かぶのは入学式。そして桜。記憶はもう朧ですが、小学校の入学式は確かに４月１日でした。母親と桜の木の下で写真を撮ったのを微かに覚えています。最近の入学式は４月７日か８日が多いと聞きますが、もうこの頃には多くの地域で桜は散っているはずです。大学の合格発表の知らせを「サクラサク」「サクラチル」と電報で送ったのも３月でした。学制という日本で最初の近代学校制度がスタートしたのが1872（明治5）年。そして30年後の1900（明治33）年に日本の入学シーズンが一本化され、多くの学校の入学式は４月１日でした。それまでは入学式はバラバラで、９月であったり、５月であったりしたわけです。世界的には９月入学が主流で、最近では、日本も大学の入学を９月にしようという動きがあります。因みに、お隣の韓国は３月、中国は９月、シンガポールは１月といったぐあいです。