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are traditional Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
ese sock
Sock

A sock is a knitted or woven type of hosiery garment for enclosing the human foot. Socks are designed to:* ease chafing between the foot and footwear...
s. Ankle high and with a separation between the big toe and other toes, they are worn by both men and women with zori
Zori

are flat and thonged Japanese sandal s made of rice straw or other plant fibers, cloth, lacquered wood, leather, rubber, or?increasingly?synthetic materials....
, geta
Geta (footwear)

Geta are a form of traditional Japanese footwear that resembles both clogs and flip-flops. They are a kind of sandal with an elevated wooden base held onto the foot with a fabric thong sandal to keep the foot well above the ground....
, and other traditional thonged footwear. Tabi are also essential with traditional clothing—kimono
Kimono

The is the national costume of Japan. Originally the word "kimono" literally meant "thing to wear" but now has come to denote a particular type of traditional full-length Japanese garment....
 and other wafuku.






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Chen Chengpo 1926
are traditional Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
ese sock
Sock

A sock is a knitted or woven type of hosiery garment for enclosing the human foot. Socks are designed to:* ease chafing between the foot and footwear...
s. Ankle high and with a separation between the big toe and other toes, they are worn by both men and women with zori
Zori

are flat and thonged Japanese sandal s made of rice straw or other plant fibers, cloth, lacquered wood, leather, rubber, or?increasingly?synthetic materials....
, geta
Geta (footwear)

Geta are a form of traditional Japanese footwear that resembles both clogs and flip-flops. They are a kind of sandal with an elevated wooden base held onto the foot with a fabric thong sandal to keep the foot well above the ground....
, and other traditional thonged footwear. Tabi are also essential with traditional clothing—kimono
Kimono

The is the national costume of Japan. Originally the word "kimono" literally meant "thing to wear" but now has come to denote a particular type of traditional full-length Japanese garment....
 and other wafuku. The most common colour is white, and white tabi are worn in formal situations such as at tea ceremonies
Tea ceremony

A tea ceremony is an Asian ritual form of making tea. The term generally refers to the Japanese tea ceremony. One can also refer to the whole set of rituals, tools, mudra, etc....
. Men sometimes wear blue or black tabi for travelling. Patterned and coloured tabi are also available and are worn most often by women, though they are gaining popularity among men as well.

Construction workers, farmers and gardeners, rickshaw-pullers, and other workmen often wear a type of tabi called . Being made of heavier, tougher material and often having rubber soles, jika-tabi resemble boot
Boot

A boot is a type of shoe that covers at least the foot and the ankle and sometimes extends up to the knee or even the hip. Most have a heel that is clearly distinguishable from the rest of the sole, even if the two are made of one piece....
s and function as outer footwear rather than as socks. Like other tabi, jika-tabi are toe-divided so they can be worn with slip-on thonged footwear. Shojiro Ishibashi, the founder of major tire company Bridgestone Corporation
Bridgestone

is a multinational rubber Conglomerate founded in 1931 by in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a literal translation and transposition of ishibashi, meaning "stone bridge" in Japanese language....
, is credited with their innovation.

Though slowly being replaced by steel-toed rigid-sole construction shoes in some industries, many workers prefer them for the softness of their soles. This gives wearers tactile contact with the ground and also lets them use their feet more agilely than rigid-soled shoes allow: for instance, people who traverse girders on construction sites like to know what is under their feet, and craft practitioners such as carpenters and gardeners additionally use their feet as if they were an extra pair of hands, for example to hold objects in place.

In contrast to socks that, when pulled on, fit the foot snugly because of their elastic weave, tabi are sewn together from cloth cut to form. They are open at the back so they can be slipped on and have a row of fasteners along the opening so they can be closed.

Modern versions

Nowadays, tabi socks—socks with a separation between the big toe and its neighbor to allow wear with thonged footwear—are also available. This reflects the number of people who still prefer to wear zori
Zori

are flat and thonged Japanese sandal s made of rice straw or other plant fibers, cloth, lacquered wood, leather, rubber, or?increasingly?synthetic materials....
 and geta
Geta (footwear)

Geta are a form of traditional Japanese footwear that resembles both clogs and flip-flops. They are a kind of sandal with an elevated wooden base held onto the foot with a fabric thong sandal to keep the foot well above the ground....
, especially during Japan's hot, humid summers.

A related item are toe socks
Toe socks

Toe socks are socks that have been knitted so that each toe is individually encased the same way that fingers are individually encased in a glove....
, which have 5 separate compartments; these are called (5 toe socks).

See also


Japanese footwear

  • Japanese clothing
    Japanese clothing

    This article is about traditional clothing in Japan. Although this traditional clothing described below is still seen at traditional festivals and ceremonies, western-style clothing is more commonly worn in daily life by both men and women....
  • Jika-tabi
    Jika-tabi

    Jika-Tabi are a type of outdoor footwear worn in Japan, invented in the 20th century.Also known as "tabi boots", they are modelled on tabi, traditional split-toe Japanese socks....
  • zori
    Zori

    are flat and thonged Japanese sandal s made of rice straw or other plant fibers, cloth, lacquered wood, leather, rubber, or?increasingly?synthetic materials....
  • geta
    Geta (footwear)

    Geta are a form of traditional Japanese footwear that resembles both clogs and flip-flops. They are a kind of sandal with an elevated wooden base held onto the foot with a fabric thong sandal to keep the foot well above the ground....
  • waraji
    Waraji

    Waraji are sandal made from straw rope that in the past were the standard footwear of the common people in Japan. Now they are mostly worn by traditional Buddhist monks....

Socks

  • stocking
    Stocking

    A stocking, sometimes referred to as hose, is a close-fitting, variously elastic clothing covering the foot and lower part of the leg. Stockings vary in color and transparency....
  • sock
    Sock

    A sock is a knitted or woven type of hosiery garment for enclosing the human foot. Socks are designed to:* ease chafing between the foot and footwear...
    s
  • toe socks
    Toe socks

    Toe socks are socks that have been knitted so that each toe is individually encased the same way that fingers are individually encased in a glove....