Regular schools, schools of martial arts, and shrines

[Ellen Kuhfeld]

I'm doing a Ranma/Sailor Moon crossover, and trying to figure a way to regularize the respective casts being in each others' territories. Specifically, I want Makoto to be studying at the Tendo Dojo, Ami to be a waitress at the Cat Cafe, and Ranma to study at the Hikawa Shrine.

Do the regular schools in Japan recognize outside study programs, and allow time off to participate? It might make life easier if (for instance) Tendo Soun could sign a letter stating Makoto was taking advanced studies in martial arts, and get her off physical education in Juuban. Or would this be more like juku? "Very laudable, I'm glad you're doing it in your copious free time. But don't forget your club obligations."

Would training in Shinto and Ki manipulation at a shrine cut you any slack in a regular school? When I was in high school you got time off for religious studies, but that was long ago and not in Japan.

If they worked it right, they could test out of the requirements of the course they were skipping out on; and I am willing to rearrange classes to make it convenient. I just want to know if it's possible.

Ellen Kuhfeld

[claymade]

Would training in Shinto and Ki manipulation at a shrine cut you any slack in a regular school?

Given that it's Ranma who's to be doing this, isn't its relation to "a regular school" kinda beside the point? I say this not merely as a cop-out, but as a serious point for consideration. Even if a regular school would do such a thing, either way the deciding factor here is ultimately pretty much the whim of the Pineapple-Freak.

[Spokavriel]

I'd think the regular school aspect would have more weight on a certain Senshi going to classes at the Tendo Dojo during school hours.

[Ellen Kuhfeld]

Given that it's Ranma who's to be doing this, isn't its relation to "a regular school" kinda beside the point? I say this not merely as a cop-out, but as a serious point for consideration. Even if a regular school would do such a thing, either way the deciding factor here is ultimately pretty much the whim of the Pineapple-Freak.

For Ranma you have a good point. But for Ami and Makoto, I get the feeling their school is a bit more, erm, normal. And a good thing! Pineapples and youma would be too, too much!

[claymade]

For Ranma you have a good point. But for Ami and Makoto, I get the feeling their school is a bit more, erm, normal.

Definitely--hence why I singled out only the religious/ki question in what I quoted.

For the other questions, I'm not nearly knowledgeable on Japanese culture to say with any authority. On a purely personal level, though, I'd find it a bit difficult to buy waitressing as a school excuse. AFAIK, a job on the side is just a job on the side.

Regarding the martial arts--just how tightly are you planning on integrating the Neriman bell-curve of ability with the bell-curve of your multi-verse in general? (In other words, are you playing the "Nerima as a freak Mecca of martial arts that no one else really knows what to make of" card?)

Also, how old are the Senshi at this point?

[Ellen Kuhfeld]

For the other questions, I'm not nearly knowledgeable on Japanese culture to say with any authority. On a purely personal level, though, I'd find it a bit difficult to buy waitressing as a school excuse. AFAIK, a job on the side is just a job on the side.

Regarding the martial arts--just how tightly are you planning on integrating the Neriman bell-curve of ability with the bell-curve of your multi-verse in general? (In other words, are you playing the "Nerima as a freak Mecca of martial arts that no one else really knows what to make of" card?)

Also, how old are the Senshi at this point?

I was hoping to employ a bit of educationese handwaving on the Cat Cafe front - Ami's really there to learn strategy and tactics, plus a fair bit of martial arts. And waitressing is one of the ways Cologne teaches. (Remember Ranma in the Phoenix Pill arc?)

Both Nerima and Azabu-Juuban are strange places, with strange and powerful menaces and people. For best results, they need to learn from each other. A bit like the training Devil Hunter Yohko went through, martial arts and spiritual arts - though the spiritual stuff mostly comes by way of the henshin artifact save for Rei. Cross-training, as it were.

The ages I am using in the fic: in this chapter, Ranma is one week short of eighteen, and Akane is a fairly solid seventeen. This is set during Sailor Moon S. I estimate fifteen for the Inners, and eighteen for Haruka and Michiru. Hotaru's age is all over the place, as usual. The Witches Five are twentysomething.

The chapter is mostly ready. I've put it up on my site, so you can give it a quick look-over. http://washuu.net/Fanfic/15BkWhtWet.htm. The situation where I'm looking for help is about two-thirds of the way to the end, as Ami and Akane are walking from the Cat Cafe to the dojo.

[Tovath]

From what I have heard a student has to have permission from their school before they can work so I doubt that Ami can be a waitress but you might be able to have her work at Doctor Tofu's

[Daniel Jess Gibson]

Do the regular schools in Japan recognize outside study programs, and allow time off to participate?

As I understand it, High School is entirely voluntary, rather than manditory as it is in Europe and the United States. If someone has no intention to go into College/University, they could go directly into the workforce out of Junior High School. Although they'd never get a good job without a University degree, and Ami might be expected and pressured by peers and family to try to go to Todai (Tokyo U) to ensure her future (and enhance their prestige), it's possible for her to drop out.
This eliminates the need for the excuse, they simply aren't going.

[Spokavriel]

But at the age of 15 would any of the inners be in Prep school yet or still in mandatory classes?

[lwf58]

Japanese schools are modeled after US schools (due to a reform after WWII), with differences in the length and dates involved in the school year. At age 15, they'd most likely be sansei (seniors) in junior high, and thus still under the mandatory attendance rule.

Students are ranked by year of attendance. They don't use terms like sophomore, junior, or senior. Instead, they are called issei, nisei, and sansei, and this system applies to both junior and senior high school. The senpai/kohai system is very much a part of school life.

Most schools in Japan prohibit their students from having part-time jobs (arubaito) because they feel that such jobs distract the student from proper studying. While this rule is not strictly enforced, only about 3% of junior high and 8% of senior high students have part-time jobs. Also, students are under a lot of pressure to join at least one school club for after-school activities. The school administrations believe that clubs help instill a sense of working as a group in students, which is a big part of Japanese social life.

If there are outside study programs, I am unaware of them. Generally speaking, a Japanese student's day is taken up with normal schooling, club activities, and juku. Commuting to school also takes up more of a students' time as they move through the levels of schooling. The average junior high school student commuted 46 minutes, and the average high school student 78 minutes on any given weekday. This is because of the fact that high schools are voluntary (although about 90% of students attend it), parents have the option to send their children to prestigious ones and try to get them into the best school they can. Since they are not obligated to attend the closest school, commuting to a distant school is a common occurrence.

Given that religious studies are not part of the curriculum in anything lower than junior college in the US, I doubt it's any different in Japan, which is a much more secular country. So working in a shrine probably does not gain the student any extra credits. The same for going to a dojo; they'd be doing that on their own.

So, Makoto going to Nerima for martial arts training on her own time is plausible. However, the commuting time is long enough that it would take up several classes worth of the day, so there's no way she'd be able to do that in place of normal phys-ed.

Ami working at the Nekohanten is more of a problem. She's not one to break the rules without a very good reason, and it's more than likely that her school prohibits outside jobs. You'd have to come up with a very convincing reason for her to do so, especially since it's canon that she attends (or attended) at least one juku in Azabu-Juuban.

[Ellen Kuhfeld]

It looks pretty consensus that they cannot get out of schools (vagaries of pineapple-heads notwithstanding -- he's just been frightened back to Hawaii, so he doesn't count). Everything will have to happen on weekends.

This is not difficult. Ami will be the hard case, but a bit of casuistry can make waitressing into an eccentric form of juku. Ami and Makoto are the two with the least home-life, so they can probably stay overnight in Nerima. If Cologne adds traditional Chinese medicine to the mix, Ami's mother might be very approving.

[Spokavriel]

If I remember correctly in another thread it was mentioned that on many schools Saturday still has a half day of school leaving Sunday as the only day to constantly be off. I think it said alternating weeks would have the Saturday half day but I can't remember which level of education that was on.

[Ellen Kuhfeld]

I think it's local-option for Japanese schools, these days; I also suspect half-Saturdays were still in effect when the series were made. (I definitely go for anime canon over manga.) This is the kind of miserable question only extensive watching will answer ...

[Togashi Gaijin]

Also remember that the Japanese school year starts in April (first Monday for issei ("orientation week"), second Monday for nisei/sansei) and ends the middle of March. There is essentially only a two week break between school years, and the summer vacation is significantly shorter than the one here in the States. Golden Week is one of the few longer holidays in the Japanese school system.

(There are several resources online available which list the various National and local holidays you will want to refer to when you get down to details.)

[Drawde]

Do you need to go to high school to try to go to college? Though I know it doesn't apply yet, if not, Ami could do without it if she needed to.

Unless they need to stay in Juuban, they could move to Nerima. It would cut the commute time greatly if they went to school there. I don't know how quickly they could get back while running in their senshi form though.