[guessmyname]

Curious coincidence, I bought a randoseru (ランドセル) [1][2][3] early this morning and complained to my wife all the way to the store. She doesn’t want our children to look different at school. They are already different enough for being hāfu [4] and she doesn’t want to traumatize them even more. The bags are stiff and, in my eyes, quite ugly, and children are supposed to carry several books every day, good exercise but there are much better alternatives. Schools are just too bully to let anyone use a different style.

As the saying goes → 出る杭は打たれる “The stake that sticks out will be driven down.”

[1] https://tsuchiya-randoseru.jp

[2] https://www.seiban.co.jp

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randoseru

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hāfu

[JohnBooty]

This may well be for the best. It's good to fight against bad traditions, but don't use your kids as the battlefield. Being forced by their parents to be "different" can really make a kids' life into hell.

[bradknowles]

That saying is also known as "Tall Poppy Syndrome".

[new299]

They also break... ours lasted 2 years and then one of the rivets popped out.

Generally I believe you are allowed to use a different bag, it's just... uncommon.

[nephanth]

Curiosity: do they have warranty (for how long?)? Does the manufacturer take them back and perform repairs?

[new299]

I think it depends, this one didn't as IIRC we got last seasons model as it was cheaper.

[toomuchtodo]

Is this a market opportunity? To make cheaper yet more durable variants?