Sailor Moon FAQ – Japanese Culture

• Why do the girls wear Sailor uniforms to school?
• What is a sailor fuku?
• Why does some of the merchandise have their names written backwards in Japanese?
• What does the writing on Rei's shrine mean? Does such a shrine really exist in Japan?
• What does the symbol Nephrite uses mean?

Sailor style uniforms are very common for girls in Japanese public schools, and are often seen in Anime.

The sailor style uniforms are based on the uniforms worn by the Imperial Japanese Navy during the early 20th century.

In Japan, the family name (or surname) comes before the personal name. They often introduce themselves (when stating their whole name) this way. e.g. (from the Sailor Moon R Movie) "I am Tsukino Usagi..."

Some people have suggested that it is a stylized "ne".