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Maybe related: Attire for a Japanese summer festival: Why don't the boys dress up for the summer festival while their dates do?

This doesn't seem to be talked about in the anime or even in the manga. We just see the 3 other student council peeps meeting up in the background of Kaguya's thoughts:

S01E11:

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Chapter 44:

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This however is brought up in the movie:

Chika (Fujiwara) asks this.

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Miyuki responds claiming to always wanting to have awareness of being president of their school's student council.

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Yu (Ishigami) asks (jokingly? semi-jokingly?) if it was because Miyuki didn't have any fireworks attire or something.

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Questions:

  1. Why does Miyuki REALLY attend the fireworks festival in school uniform? Seems like we can only speculate, but I'm wondering if perhaps some native Japanese or at least people familiar with Japanese culture will be able to shed some light here. Does Miyuki actually have no, what do you call it, yukata or something? Or what?

  2. It is indeed weird or something to attend the fireworks festival in a school uniform, right? Or what?

Dimitri mx
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BCLC
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2 Answers2

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I guess it is simply a character thing for Shirogane. That is, the black uniform (and the chain) more or less works as a symbol for him.

Realistically, boys wear only white shirts without the black jacket (like this image (top right)). It is just too hot in Tokyo. So the answer to 2 is that it is already weird to wear the black jacket in summer in the first place wherever he is. Being in school uniform to watch fireworks is not common, but won't be that eye-catching.

The clothes Fujiwara wears is called yukata. In modern Japan, people wear this in summer, especially for festive days (and note that fireworks is a summer thing in Japan). What Ishigami(?) is wearing in the last picture is called jinbei, which got popularity as summer wear more recently.

sundowner
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  • Thanks sundowner. 1 - is jinbei the male version of yukata or something? I wasn't able to find that yukata was a female thing 2 - wait...but there are fireworks that take place outside summer right? Like in the quintessential quintuplets there was a hanabi episode that took place during the school year – BCLC Apr 18 '22 at 10:12
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    @BCLC As you can see in the link, yukata is not restricted to females. Even today a guy can wear it (again, in summer/festive days). Jinbei is a male thing. It consists of two parts: a kind of thin jacket and a pants, which makes it easier to move around in. 2. You mean in general? Yes, but the typical season for fireworks display in Japan is late July - August. – sundowner Apr 18 '22 at 11:12
  • ok thanks. upvote. but not quite confident in your answer re miyuki uniform...you're right. it is too hot to wear that. it's a good conjecture though and of course i'm in no position to disagree with that. – BCLC Apr 18 '22 at 11:37
  • sundowner, another question please about Japan culture (hopefully, I don't have to create a whole new post about this, but you may require me. Whatever suits you) : Shaymin Gratitude seems to suggest they don't own any yukata/jinbei at all (or at least none Miyuki's size)...is this weird for the average Japanese family? – BCLC Apr 21 '22 at 07:04
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    @BCLC Short answer is no, esp. for jinbei. Especially around the age of high school, it is not that common for males to wear yukata/jinbei. Since females care more for clothes, they tend to have them. A typical occasion for males wearing yukata/jinbei would be dating a girl in yukata (agreed beforehand). – sundowner Apr 21 '22 at 09:16
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Shirogane does not have much clothes besides his student uniform. In chapter 119, he says,

I've cut down on expenses the last couple of years... for the sake of our family. I've only bought second-hand clothes for myself, and this is the thanks I get?

He also says,

Since I started high school, I've just worn my uniform when I go out. The only clothes I've bought these last couple of years is a hoodie and a pair of sweatpants to wear at home.

Additionally, what clothes he does have are a fashion nightmare, as Kei finds out. When she lambasts him for having the fashion sense of an eighth grader for the weird clothes he picks out, he tells her that these are indeed clothes he bought while in the eighth grade, since he hasn't bought any new clothes for himself recently.

Thus, his uniform is really the only safe choice for him to go out in. As the president, he probably does want to wear his uniform and gold chain to represent the school, but he also says,

It's true. I'd like to dress fashionably if I had the money. I want to wear nice clothes when I go out. But I know Shinomiya's clothes are all super expensive designer labels... My uniform is the nicest, most expensive outfit I own. If I allow myself to want new clothes, I'll never stop shopping. The best way to curb my desire... is to suppress any interest in clothing. But Kei is a girl... I saved money so she could spend it on nice clothes.

Since it's been asked whether Shirogane even owns a yukata (or other festival attire): In season 2 episode 2 “Kaguya Wants to Know / Kaguya Wants to Give a Gift / Chika Fujiwara Wants to Confirm It” Kei says her family has agreed that birthdays are wastes of money. This characterizes her family quite a bit. I cannot say with certainty whether Miyuki Shirogane owns a yukata or not, however, given how frugal and cash-strapped he and his family are, in lieu of any further information, I would conclude that it is unlikely. Any kind of attire that's only going to get worn a few times a year (or maybe not at all if he doesn't go to any festivals) would be a waste of money in Shirogane's eyes.

Shaymin Gratitude
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  • Also Shaymin Gratitude, 1 - do you disagree with what sundowner said 'I guess it is simply a character thing for Shirogane. That is, the black uniform (and the chain) more or less works as a symbol for him' (as possibly at least an out-universe answer opposed to your in-universe answer...unless in-universe Miyuki really intends to be symbolic or something...) ? – BCLC Apr 21 '22 at 07:00
  • 2 - Basically Miyuki, Kei & their dad really do not own any yukata/jinbei at all? Or they have but none Miyuki's size (eg Kei or dad has but not Miyuki's size. or eg Miyuki has but outgrown and didn't buy new)? – BCLC Apr 21 '22 at 07:02
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    @BCLC I don't disagree with Sundowner, but I think Miyuki is wearing it for multiple reasons, and some lines of his reasoning conflict. He says he's suppressing his desire for cool clothes, after all, so most of the time he might think he's representing the school and his clothes are a symbol. I think my answer contains all the information I have. I don't know if he possesses a yukata or not, but if he does it must not be fancy enough to wear around Kaguya. – Shaymin Gratitude Apr 22 '22 at 17:54
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    Update: This Ch119 is now in S03E08 :D – BCLC Aug 14 '22 at 15:37