Jika-tabi – Unique shoes from Japan

Jika-tabi (地下足袋, literally “ground-touching tabi”) is a style of footwear with a split toe, originating in Japan. They are similar to tabi socks in both appearance and construction. Although they can be worn with traditional buckled footwear such as geta and zōri , jika-tabi are primarily designed and manufactured to be worn alone as footwear for outdoor activities. Jika-tabi are also known as ‘tabi boots’.

Japanese tabi are generally understood as a kind of split-toed sock that should not be worn alone outdoors, just like regular socks. However, tabi were originally a kind of leather shoe made from a single animal skin, as evidenced by the historical use and earlier form of the word, tanbi, spelled 単皮, with the kanji literally meaning “single skin”. “.

As Japanese footwear evolved, the tabi also changed and the split toe design emerged towards the end of the Heian period to allow the wearer to accommodate the strap of waraji straw sandals to reinforce the sole. Other versions of tabi comprise the sole traditionally made of cloth, leather or straw. Brothers Tokujirō Ishibashi and Shōjirō Ishibashi, founders of the Bridgestone tire company, are credited with inventing the rubber-soled jika-tabi in 1922.

Jika-tabi are known as the footwear commonly worn by construction workers, farmers, gardeners, rickshaw pullers, and other laborers in Japan, due to the tough yet flexible material and rubber soles they are made of.

Although they have faced competition from the introduction of steel toe work boots in some industries, jika tabi are still preferred by some due to the flexibility of the soles which allow the wearer a greater degree of grip than shoes allow. rigid sole. Other varieties of jika-tabi have been developed for specific labor purposes, such as the knee-length jika-tabi made entirely of rubber used by laborers in rice fields and other wet and muddy environments.

Jika-tabi are also commonly worn for certain types of exercise, specifically cross-country running, walking, and climbing.

Although generally worn for manual labor and exercise, the jika-tabi is also worn for comfort and as a casual shoe. A variation of jika-tabi known as matsuri tabi is so named because it is commonly used for festivals; this variety has a type of additional cushioning in the sole for greater comfort.