100-year history of the school year magazine "Furoku" loved over time-From Showa retro to popular characters- | Sarai.jp | Shogakukan's magazine "Sarai" official website

Recently, "Showa retro" has been attracting attention. The Seibuen Amusement Park, which reopened after renovations last year, has been well-received for its reproduction of a 1960s shopping district. is being re-evaluated among young people called Generation Z.

Did you know that the wave of the Showa retro boom is also surging to Furoku, a magazine for elementary school students? In the well-known Shogakukan school yearbook "Shogaku 1st Grader", children's attention is being drawn to Nikko's photos, which were once standard items, and assembly bags based on nostalgic candy.

Shogakukan, which has progressed with the school yearbook since its founding, will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2022. Furoku who have nurtured the curiosity of elementary school students over the four eras of Taisho, Showa, Heisei, and Reiwa while reflecting the changing social conditions. Let's look back at its history.

Children have been obsessed with furoku since the first issue!

Shogakukan's school yearbook started in 1922 with "Elementary School 5th Grade" and "Elementary School 6th Grade". In the next three years, Seugaku 3rd grade, Elementary school 4th grade, Seugaku 1st grade, and Seugaku 2nd grade were launched.

Furoku at the time of the first issue was mainly simple but rewarding, such as sugoroku and clipping games. In the Showa era, assembly bags such as giant paper ships also appeared. At that time, furoku was also called "bonus" and entertained children all over the country.

After that, with the advent of the Pacific War, the school yearbooks were integrated and the names of the journals were changed. Since then, the furoku has gradually regained its diversity.

During the period of rapid economic growth, furoku also developed and evolved luxuriously

Large-scale infrastructure such as the Tokyo Tower, expressways, and the Shinkansen was developed, and the Tokyo Olympics were held, bringing vitality to Japan as a whole. The Showa 30's regained. After the baby boom, school yearbooks also flourished, and furoku became more luxurious.

And in the 40's of the Showa era, the Apollo 11 moon landing and the Japan World Exposition (Osaka Expo) became major topics. The spread of culture and entertainment, such as the spread of color televisions and the trend of glamorous fashion, has been incorporated into the school yearbook without overlooking it, and has made children's dreams and aspirations come true.

Incorporating a Variety of "Entertainment"

From the Showa 50s to the Heisei Era...Japan entered an era of rapid change, with its ever-growing peak reaching its peak and the bursting of the bubble economy. rush in.

From Pink Lady to Morning Musume. With the advent of the Famicom, computer games quickly became the mainstay of children's hobbies. In 1993, when the J-League official games began, soccer became as popular as professional baseball, and entertainment changed one after another. In response to this, the school yearbook has continued to reflect the rapidly changing trends of children without missing a beat.

Even in the 2000s, the unchanging charm of the furokuku

The 21st century, which was once depicted in school yearbooks as if it were the distant future, has arrived. With the addition of new characters such as "Pocket Monsters", "Tottoko Hamtaro", "Mushiking" and "Beyblade", Furoku's popularity has increased. Paper assembly bags are still popular, and many ingenious and unique ones are being sent out.

Furoku also evolved in the 2000s, and a plastic "finished product" appeared. Rich furoku with various gimmicks often makes media noise.

In the 4th year of Reiwa, the latest "first grader" is...?

And this year's April issue of "Shogaku 1st Grader" comes with the "Pokémon Ritttai Slide Tool Box" for assembly and the "Doraemon Kyoro Kyoro Mezamashi Dokei" for the finished product. These are the two. It's a super luxurious furoku where two major stars of the school year magazine co-star.

"Mezamashi Dokei" is an excellent product that reacts to sounds and voices and makes Doraemon shake his head while chatting. (Shogakukan Kids Channel)

Furoku, a school yearbook that has evolved with the times and has captured the hearts of children for over 100 years. The many furoku that will appear in the future will surely bring a smile to the “shiny first graders” who are excited about their new school life. It should be a fun memory for the children to challenge the slightly difficult assembly as a family.

(Interview / Text / Production Beige)