Waraji

File:Waraji.jpg

Template:Transliteration over indigo-blue Template:Transliteration, the sock colour digitally altered for clarity

File:STRAW SANDALS. (1910) - illustration - page 128.png

File:Sandals, pair (AM 15832-3).jpg

Similar four- and six-warp Chinese sandals, c. 1930 (other views)

Template:Nihongo (Template:IPA) are light tie-on sandals, made from ropemaking fibers (usually straw), that were the standard footwear of the common people in Japan.<ref name=V&A/> Template:Italic title

Use

File:Samurai putting on waraji (sandals).png

Samurai donning Template:Transliteration

Template:Transliteration resemble other forms of traditional Japanese footwear, such as zori and geta, with a few key differences. They were historically the simplest form of outdoor footwear (sandals of any type were not worn indoors).<ref name=V&A/> Template:Transliteration, due to their cheap and rustic nature, are considered to be a very informal type of footwear, and are not worn with formal kimono. They are typically worn with Template:Transliteration socks, and are woven so that the wearer's toes generally protrude slightly over the edge of the shoe.<ref name="live"/><ref name=V&A/>

Template:Transliteration were once common footwear in Japan. There are records of Template:Transliteration in the Heian period (794–1185 CE), with the possibility of Template:Transliteration having existed before this time.<ref name=Zen>Template:Cite web</ref> In the Edo period (1603–1867 CE), geta were worn in cities, but anyone making a long journey wore Template:Transliteration.<ref name="sponsored">Template:Cite web (sponsored article)</ref>Template:Better source needed They were also worn for energetic or prolonged labour.<ref name=V&A/> Their light weight and grip were valued.<ref name="nipponia"/>

In modern-day Japan, Template:Transliteration are worn by Buddhist monks,<ref name="live">Template:Cite web</ref> and by some fishers of mountain streams.<ref name="nipponia"/> Zori and geta are worn far more commonly by the general population.

Construction

• 
  Template:Transliteration were traditionally made in the home, as shown here (September 1914). Note twine warp, held between hands and toes, and loose-fiber weft, to his right.
• 
  Pictorial instructions on how to weave zōri (similar to Template:Transliteration) in Hida Minzoku Mura Folk Village; most Japanese no longer regularly make Template:Transliteration.
• Error creating thumbnail:
  These rough festival zōri were made like the instructions, but the straps were wrapped in fabric before they are twisted together.Template:Efn

In constant use, rice-straw Template:Transliteration only last three or four days,<ref name=Zen/> or roughly 24 hours of active use<ref name=V&A/> and so people would have to make about a hundred pairs a year, on average, if they wore them constantly. As Template:Transliteration could be homemade from cheap materials, and many people learned how to make them in childhood, that was not a problem.<ref name=Zen/> Template:Transliteration could also be cheaply bought. Travellers carried a supply and discarded them when they were worn out.<ref name=V&A/>

Materials

• Template:Transliteration woven entirely from rice straw (somewhat finer straw, and more tightly packed, than the festival zori above)
  Template:Transliteration woven entirely from rice straw (somewhat finer straw, and more tightly packed, than the festival zori above)
• Template:Transliteration with two different-coloured fibers for the warp and weft. Side loops are made from the outer warps of the opposite side; each is woven as a weft across, made into a side loop, and woven back again, trapping the loop
  Template:Transliteration with two different-coloured fibers for the warp and weft. Side loops are made from the outer warps of the opposite side; each is woven as a weft across, made into a side loop, and woven back again, trapping the loop
• Finely-woven Template:Transliteration from a museum exhibit at the Ninja Museum of Igaryu, showing multiple fibers, indigo dye, and loops secured with whipping
  Finely-woven Template:Transliteration from a museum exhibit at the Ninja Museum of Igaryu, showing multiple fibers, indigo dye, and loops secured with whipping
• From the heel end.
  From the heel end.

Rice straw is the common and traditional material for weaving Template:Transliteration.<ref name="live"/> Long straw (not broken by the processing methods) must be beaten to soften the fibers before use.<ref name=pollard>Template:Cite web</ref> Most other ropemaking fibers can also be used, such as cotton, hemp, palm fibers, or even strips of rag.<ref name="live"/><ref name=pollard/> The straps of the Template:Transliteration might be covered, often with paper.<ref name=V&A/> Cardboard soles are used on some modern commercial designs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Tying

• These Template:Transliteration are made as in the instructions above, but two small loops are woven on each side (instead of one big foot-crossing loop), and the leftover-warp loops at the heel are retained. A separate rope is then woven through these loops to attach the Template:Transliteration to the foot.
  These Template:Transliteration are made as in the instructions above, but two small loops are woven on each side (instead of one big foot-crossing loop), and the leftover-warp loops at the heel are retained. A separate rope is then woven through these loops to attach the Template:Transliteration to the foot.
• A method of tying the Template:Transliteration without a fastening around the ankle (Gion Matsuri, 2009)
  A method of tying the Template:Transliteration without a fastening around the ankle (Gion Matsuri, 2009)
• Another more complex tying variation; the leftover heel loops are drawn through the rear set of side loops, with a separate piece of rope threaded between them. (Jidai Matsuri, 2009)
  Another more complex tying variation; the leftover heel loops are drawn through the rear set of side loops, with a separate piece of rope threaded between them. (Jidai Matsuri, 2009)
• Another tying variation, worn over Template:Transliteration
  Another tying variation, worn over Template:Transliteration

There are a number of different ways of tying Template:Transliteration straps; even historically, there was no standardised method of attaching the shoes to one's feet.

Ceremonial use

• Template:Transliteration hung as offerings in Kyoto
  Template:Transliteration hung as offerings in Kyoto
• A giant Template:Transliteration in Asakusa Temple, Tokyo
  A giant Template:Transliteration in Asakusa Temple, Tokyo
• A pilgrim performing Template:Transliteration laces Template:Transliteration over Template:Transliteration, 1954
  A pilgrim performing Template:Transliteration laces Template:Transliteration over Template:Transliteration, 1954
• The worn-out Template:Transliteration of monks who have completed the Template:Transliteration, 2009
  The worn-out Template:Transliteration of monks who have completed the Template:Transliteration, 2009
• An Template:Transliteration is carried into the sea at a Template:Transliteration festival, Nakiri-jinja, 2006
  An Template:Transliteration is carried into the sea at a Template:Transliteration festival, Nakiri-jinja, 2006
• Straw- and rag-woven sandals hung as offerings
  Straw- and rag-woven sandals hung as offerings

Traditionally, Template:Transliteration were donated to temples as offerings for healthy feet and protection on journeys.<ref name="tfwt"/> This practice, while now less common, is still followed.<ref name=Zen/> More modernly, giant Template:Transliteration (Template:Transliteration) kept in temples are touched as a charm for tireless endurance in walking.<ref name="tfwt">Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• List of shoe styles
• Bast shoe, similar Northeastern European shoe
• Geta, traditional Japanese wooden clogs
• Huarache (shoe), traditional Mexican sandals constructed from woven strips of leather
• Template:Transliteration, traditional Japanese split-toe workboots
• Jipsin and mit'uri, similar Korean shoes
• Template:Transliteration, traditional Japanese wooden platform clogs
• Template:Transliteration, traditional Japanese split-toe socks
• Zori, traditional Japanese sandals