Zori (), also rendered as zōri ( ja,
, ), are thonged
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese
sandal
Sandals are an open type of footwear, consisting of a sole held to the wearer's foot by straps going over the instep and around the ankle. Sandals can also have a heel. While the distinction between sandals and other types of footwear can some ...
s made of rice straw, cloth, lacquered wood, leather, rubber, or—most commonly and informally—synthetic materials.
They are a slip-on descendant of the tied-on sandal.
Similar in form, modern
flip-flops
Flip-flops are a type of light sandal, typically worn as a form of casual footwear. They consist of a flat sole held loosely on the foot by a Y-shaped strap known as a toe thong that passes between the first and second toes and around both side ...
became popular in the United States, Australia and New Zealand when soldiers returning from
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
brought Japanese zori with them.
Use
Like many Japanese sandals, zori are easily slipped on and off,
which is important in Japan, where shoes are removed and put back on when
entering and leaving a house,
[ and where tying shoelaces would be impractical when wearing ]traditional clothing
A folk costume (also regional costume, national costume, traditional garment, or traditional regalia) expresses an identity through costume, which is usually associated with a geographic area or a period of time in history. It can also indicat ...
.
The traditional forms of zori are seen when worn with other traditional clothing. Modern forms are fairly common, however, with casual Western wear, especially in summer. While geta
Geta may refer to:
Places
*Geta (woreda), a woreda in Ethiopia's Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region
*Geta, Åland, a municipality in Finland
*Geta, Nepal, a town in Attariya Municipality, Kailali District, Seti Zone, Nepal
*Get ...
are now mostly worn with the informal , traditional zori are often worn with the more formal kimono
The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...
.
In rain, zori may be worn with toe covers ( zori).
Materials
File:Home Made Shoes in Japan (1914-09 by Elstner Hilton) (borders cropped).jpg, Zori were traditionally made in the home, as were . Note twine warp
Warp, warped or warping may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Books and comics
* WaRP Graphics, an alternative comics publisher
* ''Warp'' (First Comics), comic book series published by First Comics based on the play ''Warp!''
* Warp (comics), a ...
, held between hands and toes, and loose-fiber weft
Warp and weft are the two basic components used in weaving to turn thread or yarn into fabric. The lengthwise or longitudinal warp yarns are held stationary in tension on a frame or loom while the transverse weft (sometimes woof) is draw ...
, to his right.
File:Zori sandals instructions.jpg, Pictorial instructions on how to weave or in Hida Minzoku Mura Folk Village; woven footwear is uncommonly produced, especially for practical necessity, in Japan in the present day.
File:大祭 人足衆 草履 (3521710144) (cropped).jpg, Similar roughly-woven festival zori, but with the straps wrapped in fabric before being twisted together.
File:Which pair? (7112693815).jpg, More finely-woven zori (the thong is also further back). Sewn-on outsoles are just visible at the edges.
The zori originated as a slip-on form of the tie-on . In the Edo period (1603-1867), the production of zori became professionalized, and a variety of fancy types of zori emerged, using fancier materials. While zori were still commonly woven of rice straw
Straw is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has a number ...
( , literally "straw zori"), rushes of various kinds and bamboo sheath were also used.[ If they were made of something less cheap than rice straw, an extra ]outsole
A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture to ...
was often sewn on. This could be made of coiled hemp rope (), wistaria stems, (), or wood in lateral strips ( or ). Leather soles were used on .[ Modernly, ]polyurethane
Polyurethane (; often abbreviated PUR and PU) refers to a class of polymers composed of organic chemistry, organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links. In contrast to other common polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene, polyurethan ...
and cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
are used as outsoles.[
Zori also have a variety of upper surfaces. Zori with a woven ]wicker
Wicker is the oldest furniture making method known to history, dating as far back as 5,000 years ago. It was first documented in ancient Egypt using pliable plant material, but in modern times it is made from any pliable, easily woven material. ...
covering are referred to as [ If it is woven of rice straw (as above), they are . If they are woven on the same four-warp pattern, but using a weft of ]bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...
sheath (peelings of bamboo culms), they are zori, literally bamboo-skin zori. The topsole may also be woven of common rush
''Juncus effusus'', with the common names common rush or soft rush, is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant species in the rush family Juncaceae. In North America, the common name soft rush also refers to '' Juncus interior''.
Distribution
'' ...
(). This is the material used for most tatami mats, and are also woven on the same many-warp pattern as tatami.
Raffia, rattan
Rattan, also spelled ratan, is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the closed-canopy old-growth tropical forests of ...
, and paper strips (treated and twisted to resemble rush) are also used in topsoles.[ (sense two, a footwear top surface of igusa (soft rush), rattan, or bamboo sheath)][ Some soles are ]skiamorph
A skeuomorph (also spelled skiamorph, ) is a derivative object that retains ornamental design cues (attributes) from structures that were necessary in the original. Skeuomorphs are typically used to make something new feel familiar in an effort t ...
ic moldings that look like woven topsoles. Topsoles might also be made of cloth, leather, vinyl cloth, or EVA foam
Ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), also known as poly (ethylene-vinyl acetate) (PEVA), is the copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate. The weight percent of vinyl acetate usually varies from 10 to 40%, with the remainder being ethylene. There are thr ...
. Soles made entirely of waterproof (usually synthetic) materials are called zori, literally rain-soled zori.[, , ] Elastomer
An elastomer is a polymer with viscoelasticity (i.e. both viscosity and elasticity) and with weak intermolecular forces, generally low Young's modulus and high failure strain compared with other materials. The term, a portmanteau of ''elastic p ...
zori are called .
Wrapping straw straps with cloth makes the zori into (cloth zori, )[ Modern zori are usually made with the straps as a separate piece, not woven at the same time as the sole.
]
The are the straps holding the sole to the foot; the part that should fit loosely between the toes is the , and the side-straps are the . , like zori soles, are traditionally symmetrical, with no difference between left and right, though some designs diverge from this.
The of informal zori can be made of a velour
Velour, occasionally velours, is a plush, knitted fabric or textile similar to velvet or velveteen. It is usually made from cotton, but can also be made from synthetic materials such as polyester. Often, it contains a percentage of elastane, ...
-like material, as is often the case for zori. The of more formal colored vinyl zori are either vinyl or fabric straps. The fabric is often either the fabric used for the shoe, or (a type of Japanese crepe, of silk or rayon
Rayon is a semi-synthetic fiber, made from natural sources of regenerated cellulose, such as wood and related agricultural products. It has the same molecular structure as cellulose. It is also called viscose. Many types and grades of viscose f ...
), or cotton, often with a different, softer fabric underneath. Men's zori may also feature leather or leather imitation .
Traditionally, are adjusted to the wearer, being tied through three holes by strings attached to the straps.[ (mostly pictorial)] can wear and stretch easily; in such instances, the can be adjusted or replaced through small flaps in the soles, which conceal the knots that hold them in place. In other instances, however, the can be entirely inaccessible, requiring the glued sole to be split open, or entire shoe to be replaced.
Varieties and formalities
File:Zori-or.jpg, Side view of a semi-formal vinyl zori. Two-fabric , softer beneath.
File:Zori1.jpg, Modern formal vinyl women's zori
File:Sandals - Hirata Folk Art Museum - Takayama, Gifu, Japan - DSC06786.jpg, Historic cloth-covered zori
File:Gomuzori.jpg, Rubber zori, frequently used in bathrooms, and left at the bathroom door
File:どれにしようかな。 (9533503205).jpg, EVA flip-flops for sale in Kanagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...
; note asymmetry
File:エナメル (2100306811).jpg, Glossy vinyl zori
File:Zori.jpg, zori with a stitched-on outsole
A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture to ...
. These seem to be made of paper "rush"
File:MET DP14486.jpg, 1800s ; top surface woven
File:Setta,japanese-leather-soled-sandals,japan.JPG, ; the top surface is a moulded imitation of the surface in the previous image
File:581px-Zori in Aoi festival 1a.jpg, Zori being worn, with an extra tie around the ankle, hitched around each strap
File:Jidai Matsuri 2009 080.jpg, Zori being worn
Both the gender of the wearer and the formality of the occasion affects the choice of zori. Regardless of variety, zori are almost always worn with socks.
Women's zori are seldom flat, save for zori. The soles come in different thicknesses and angles, and are typically covered by vinyl or fabric, though some modern varieties feature a hard black plastic sole with a non-slip base. In contrast, men's zori almost always feature a flat sole.
Zori with a woven wicker
Wicker is the oldest furniture making method known to history, dating as far back as 5,000 years ago. It was first documented in ancient Egypt using pliable plant material, but in modern times it is made from any pliable, easily woven material. ...
covering are referred to as [ zori are generally considered to be relatively formal zori, even if the covering is a vinyl imitation of a woven bamboo-sheath cover. Though most zori with a cover are considered to be menswear - known as - traditional women's footwear with a cover also exist, though these are generally confined to the variety of geta. In contrast, zori are more modern,] and are not worn with kimono, but are considered working wear or are sometimes matched with casual Western or Japanese clothing. These zori more closely resemble a flat sandal with a woven base.
Setta were historically mostly , but , they were often ; they were also increasingly likely to have coloured and patterned straps.
Vinyl or plastic zori are next in formality. They are worn with formal clothing such as a semi-formal kimono. The most formal variety of zori are generally worn by women; they are brocade
Brocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silks and sometimes with gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli", comes from Italian ''broccato'' meaning "embos ...
covered zori that are used with the most formal of kimono, such as wedding and funeral wear.
The , or thongs, may be white or black, depending on the occasion; white are worn with formal zori, with black considered to be informal. They may also complement the colour of the garment. Black, white, and red are traditional and commonly mass-produced, but colourful with a variety of patterns, sometimes chosen separately from the zori, are also popular.[ (see enlarged image)]
See also
* Geta
Geta may refer to:
Places
*Geta (woreda), a woreda in Ethiopia's Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region
*Geta, Åland, a municipality in Finland
*Geta, Nepal, a town in Attariya Municipality, Kailali District, Seti Zone, Nepal
*Get ...
, traditional Japanese wooden sandals
* , traditional Japanese wooden clogs
* , traditional Japanese split-toed socks
* , traditional Japanese split-toed boots
* , a simpler form of traditional Japanese sandal
* , a zori that comes to life when possessed by a
Notes
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zori
Sandals
Japanese footwear
Straw objects
Weaving