Sukumizu – the Japanese school swimsuit

The sukumizu is the term used for the swimsuits worn in Japanese schools. The word is an abbreviation of school mizugi (スクール水着), where mizugi literally means "bathing suit." These suits are traditionally worn during swimming classes and are dark navy blue. The dark color keeps the suit from looking transparent when wet.

Most girls' sukumizu have a small name tag stitched onto the chest area, which makes it easy to identify the student wearing it. Sukumizu come as one-piece or two-piece suits; boys generally wear a one-piece in the style of swimming trunks or briefs. The material is usually a blend of synthetic fibers, such as nylon and polyester.

Even though it is a perfectly ordinary school swimsuit, the sukumizu has gained popularity outside of the classroom and keeps popping up in pop culture. It shows up regularly in anime, manga and occasionally in fashion or idol magazines.

How did the sukumizu originate?

The original swimsuit appeared in the late 1950s, when nylon became much more widely available for manufacturing. That allowed more flexibility and style variation, and the market quickly turned into a lucrative business with direct ties to the schools. The suits were designed to be easy to produce in bulk and have changed very little since.

Most models are a single piece with the top styled like a short skirt; the very first version left the back a bit more exposed. In 1985, a new design merged the top seamlessly with the rest of the suit, removing the skirt-like appearance. Competition-grade sukumizu, on the other hand, are made from thinner material with less internal structure.

The sukumizu in pop culture

For many Japanese students, the sukumizu is a memorable part of school life — not least because it was one of the first situations in which boys and girls saw more of each other than usual, right in the middle of the already turbulent teenage years.

In anime and manga, the sukumizu often appears in a slightly moe-style way. In some stories it underlines the immaturity of a character, while high school or out-of-school scenes sometimes use more provocative bikinis as a contrast.

The cultural footprint of the sukumizu is so big that a Google search mostly surfaces fashion and pop culture results, many of which only loosely resemble the original school swimsuit. For instance, a mizugi released in 2014 with a distinctive cutout at the chest became popular in moe and otaku circles, generating plenty of variations, memes and fan art centered on the sukumizu.

The sukumizu is so present in Japanese pop culture today that it deserves a closer look. What do you think of this swimsuit (mizugi)? Would you ever wear one? Share your thoughts with friends and in the comments below.

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