Japanese Footwear Ancient Japanese Shoes: What Are “Hanadaka-gutsu”?
Japan has many traditional types of footwear such as 下駄 (geta) and 草履 (zori).However, long before these became common, a...
Japanese Footwear 
Japanese Footwear Ancient Bronze Shoes from Japan’s Kofun Period
When people think about traditional Japanese footwear, they usually imagine straw sandals, wooden geta, or cloth shoes. ...
Japanese Footwear Bota Zori: Traditional Japanese Sandals Made from Recycled Fabric
These traditional Japanese sandals are called Bota Zori, handmade footwear crafted by weaving strips of old fabric toget...
Japanese Culture Onoza Theater (Okina-za): The Oldest Wooden Playhouse in Western Japan
Hidden in the historic town of Joge in Hiroshima Prefecture stands a remarkable cultural treasure — Onoza Theater (Okina...
Japanese Footwear Strange Japanese Geta: Tea-Crushing Sandals and Roller Skate Geta
Japan is famous for traditional footwear called geta, wooden sandals worn with kimono.Most people imagine simple wooden ...
Places & Landscapes Aizome: Japan’s Indigo Born from Fermentation
Aizome: Japan’s Indigo Born from FermentationIn Japan, indigo is more than a color.It is the result of a slow fermentati...
Objects & Symbols Yotsuya Simon at Shimose Art Museum, Japan — Angel Sculptures and His Kagawa Connection
Yotsuya Simon is one of Japan’s most distinctive doll artists, known for his spiritual and quietly unsettling figures. H...
Japanese Culture Working with Water
Anchoring the Body in Seaweed FarmingAt first glance, these do not look like footwear.They are wooden frames tied to hea...
Japanese Footwear Not All Japanese Snow Is Powder
Subtitle: Climate Shapes the SoleWestern Japan: Walking on Wet SnowIn western Japan, snow is often wet and heavy.Tempera...
Japanese Footwear Wearing Rice and Wearing Lacquer: Footwear and Social Hierarchy in Ancient Japan
What did people wear on their feet in ancient Japan?For many overseas readers, the image is simple: straw sandals. Rough...