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Zori (), also rendered as zōri (, ), are thonged
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
ese
sandal Sandals are an open type of shoe, 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 sometim ...
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-like shoe, 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 ...
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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
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 Folk costume, traditional dress, traditional attire or folk attire, is clothing of an ethnic group, nation or region, and expresses Cultural identity, cultural, Religious identity, religious or national identity. An ethnic group's clothing may a ...
. 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 Garment collars in hanfu#Youren (right lapel), left side wrapped over ri ...
. 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 at home, as were . Note twine warp, held between hands and toes, and loose-fiber
weft In the manufacture of cloth, warp and weft are the two basic components in weaving to transform thread (yarn), thread and yarn into textile fabrics. The vertical ''warp'' yarns are held stationary in tension on a loom (frame) while the horizo ...
, 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 wikt:stalk, stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the crop yield, yield by weight of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, ry ...
( , 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. Though the human foot can adapt to varied terrains and climate conditions, it is vulnerable, and shoes provide protection. Form was originally tied to function, but ...
was often sewn on. This could be made of coiled hemp rope (), wisteria stems, (), or wood in lateral strips ( or ). Leather soles were used on . In modern times,
polyurethane Polyurethane (; often abbreviated PUR and PU) is 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, polyurethane term ...
and cork are used as outsoles. Zori also have a variety of upper surfaces. Zori with a woven
wicker Wicker is a method of weaving used to make products such as furniture and baskets, as well as a descriptor to classify such products. It is the oldest furniture making method known to history, dating as far back as . Wicker was first documented ...
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 mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...
sheath (peelings of bamboo culms), they are zori, literally bamboo-skin zori. The topsole may also be woven of common rush (). This is the material used for most tatami mats, and are also woven on the same many-warp pattern as tatami.
Raffia Raffia palms are members of the genus ''Raphia''. The Malagasy language, Malagasy name is derived from ' "to squeeze #Raffia wine, juice". The genus contains about twenty species of Arecaceae, palms native to tropical regions of Africa, and esp ...
,
rattan Rattan, also spelled ratan (from Malay language, Malay: ''rotan''), 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 clos ...
, 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 skiamorphic moldings that look like woven topsoles. Topsoles might also be made of cloth, leather, vinyl cloth, or EVA foam. 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 (E) and high failure strain compared with other materials. The term, a portmanteau of ''ela ...
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, knits, knitted fabric or textile similar to velvet or velveteen. It can be made from polyester, spandex, cotton, or a cotton-polyester blend. Velour is used in a wide variety of applications, including ...
-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, also called viscose and commercialised in some countries as sabra silk or cactus silk, is a semi-synthetic fiber made from natural sources of regenerated cellulose fiber, cellulose, such as wood and related agricultural products. It has t ...
), 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 Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...
; 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. Though the human foot can adapt to varied terrains and climate conditions, it is vulnerable, and shoes provide protection. Form was originally tied to function, but ...
. 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 a method of weaving used to make products such as furniture and baskets, as well as a descriptor to classify such products. It is the oldest furniture making method known to history, dating as far back as . Wicker was first documented ...
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 (weaving), shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in coloured silks and sometimes with gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli", comes from Italian langua ...
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

*
List of shoe styles This is a list of shoe styles and designs. A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot while doing various activities. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration. The design of shoes has varied enormously throug ...
* , a zori that comes to life when possessed by a *
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 split-toed boots * , traditional Japanese wooden clogs * , traditional Japanese split-toed socks * , a simpler form of traditional Japanese sandal


Notes


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zori Sandals Japanese footwear Straw objects Weaving