木村：うちの子供の学校は規則がきびしいんですよ。制服、髪の長さ、スカート丈とね。
佐藤：そういった規則などが、日本人の単一文化につながっていくのでしょうね。
Tan'itsu bunka
Kimura: Uchi no kodomo no gakkoo wa kisoku go kibishii n' desu yo. Seifuku, kami no nagasa, sukaato-dake to ne.
Sato: Soo itta kisoku nado ga, Nihon-jin no tan'itsu bunka ni tsunagatte iku no deshoo ne.
Kimura: Our child's school is so strict They have rules about everything from the uniform to how long their hair should be, and the length of their skirts.
Sato: I think ifs rules like that which end up making Japanese people so conformist.
Tan'itsu bunka refers to a society that has become increasingly uniform as people conform to the same ways of thinking and behaving.
The population of Japan is made up of a wide variety of people, ranging from the inhabitants of Okinawa to communities like the Ainu. However, judging by the impression you get from looking at the education system, Nihon no gakkoo wa Nihon-jin wo tan'itsu bunka no naka ni oshikomeyoo to shite iru yoo ni omoeru (You would think that Japanese schools are trying to force people to be all the same).
To give you an example of what I mean, let me tell you about a child I knew who loved music. He was brought up in a musical environment. At home his father played the piano and his mother used to accompany him by singing. However, when the child went to school he grew to dislike his music lessons. The whole class was forced to play recorders as a group. They had to play whatever song they were told to play and keep the same rhythm as everyone else. They had to be careful not to play too slowly or too loudly. No one was allowed to stand out. Everyone had to function as part of a unit, in the way they were told to. Koo shite kyooiku ni yotte tan'itsu bunka wa tsukurarete iku (This is how education fosters uniformity). The style of lessons is similarly rigid in what is and is not considered right.
In Japan, March and April are the months for graduation and school entrance ceremonies. School, significantly, both begins and ends with this kind of group event At schools in America students are given far more options in various aspects of their school life. Nihon no gakko wa, tan'itsu bunka wo keisei suru tame no koodo no kijun wo kimete shimau (Japanese schools determine standards of behavior hi order to encourage uniformity). In this way, Kachikan go onaji, tan'itsu bunko no kokumin ga dekiagatte iku (Society becomes increasingly uniform, with everyone sharing identical values).
Of course, in spite of this, there are always students who break the rules and rebel against the system. It is often these students who later in life end up doing more creative types of work than the others. While they are still at school though, they are not usually appreciated by the teachers.