Waraji

Template:Short description Template:Italic title Template:More citations needed

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

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

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

Template:Nihongo ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}) 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

UseEdit

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>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=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">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=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">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and by some fishers of mountain streams.<ref name="nipponia"/> Zori and geta are worn far more commonly by the general population.

ConstructionEdit

Home Made Shoes in Japan (1914-09 by Elstner Hilton) (borders cropped).jpg

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.
Zori sandals instructions.jpg

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.
大祭人足衆草履 (3521710144) (cropped).jpg

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/>

MaterialsEdit

Waraji on tatami.jpg

Template:Transliteration woven entirely from rice straw (somewhat finer straw, and more tightly packed, than the festival zori above)
Waraji 1.JPG

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
Kuro-Shozoku-Ninja-Costume-at-Iga-Ninja-Museum (cropped to waraji).png

Finely-woven Template:Transliteration from a museum exhibit at the Ninja Museum of Igaryu, showing multiple fibers, indigo dye, and loops secured with whipping
The Former Residence of Tada Eikichi akau 001.jpg

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>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=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>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

TyingEdit

Kyoto Gion Matsuri J09 130.jpg

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.
Kyoto Gion Matsuri J09 129.jpg

A method of tying the Template:Transliteration without a fastening around the ankle (Gion Matsuri, 2009)
Jidai Matsuri 2009 466.jpg

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)
20111023 Jidai 0012 (cropped to first pair of waraji).jpg

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 useEdit

Waraji by mrhayata in Kyoto.jpg

Template:Transliteration hung as offerings in Kyoto
Waraji-1.jpg

A giant Template:Transliteration in Asakusa Temple, Tokyo
Gyoja wearing a renge-gasa.jpg

A pilgrim performing Template:Transliteration laces Template:Transliteration over Template:Transliteration, 1954
Waraji on Hiei Mountain, next to Enryaku-ji Kyōin.jpg

The worn-out Template:Transliteration of monks who have completed the Template:Transliteration, 2009
Nakiri-jinja(Mie) 08.JPG

An Template:Transliteration is carried into the sea at a Template:Transliteration festival, Nakiri-jinja, 2006
金網 (5581030058).jpg

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">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>