HI!! It is How Unique Japan again! This time, I would like to tell you about traditional socks. They are the Tabi.
What is Unique about it? Please look at the appearance.
Have you seen the socks having the spread toe part like that? It looks strange.
However, they are famous socks in Japan due to their flexibility as socks, even shoes.
Why?
The Origin
It has a long history. Some historians say that the origin of Tabi socks already existed in the Nara era (Around 710 AC!!).
At that time, those socks were just for the people with high society crass (like loyal family). They were made by the animal’s skin, for example, bears, dears, and surprisingly monkeys.
(Now, almost all of them are from cotton).
Why is that form?
Then, why did they create them in that form? The answer is concerned with Japanese traditional shoes. In the old times, all Japanese shoes formed like sandals.
As you see in the picture, the toe parts have a line from both sides, and the line is tied at the middle of the toe area. Thus, the way to put them on is precisely like sandals way.
It is why the Tabi needed to be cut at the top.
The advantage of Tabi
The merits are various. First, the legs’ muscles would be trained because the toe can grab the base when walking anywhere.
The other advantage is Balance. Grabbing the base with the fingers also gives us a good balance sense when walking with the socks.
That is why they are loved by many Japanese still now, because of such merits for health.
“Who always put them on for their professional job?”
So, I briefly explained how it is good. However, some professional workers especially need them. They are the Construction Industry workers. It is already clear that Tabi socks give us a good balance sense. So, it is necessary for the workers whenever they work at a very high place.
They can sense tiny areas where they stand up by grabbing with their toe. It is the main reason they always use them. Moreover, the Tabi in such a dangerous workplace improved. It is Jika Tabi. (Hard sole Tabi)
It is called the Jika Tabi. The thick and good rubber is attached to the sole area. They became tough/hard and more unbreakable, and they can still give good balance sense. (Thanks for the technology).
To close
So, it is my conclusion. However, there are still many kinds of them. They sometimes have different color patterns, made by various ingredients. Even some sneakers imitate them.
If you are interested in them, try to check the Tabi. You would be surprised by them having so many different types.
Thank you very much for reading this article! I must appreciate it! If you want to know about Japanese uniqueness more, please visit the front page from here!
See you for the next article!