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Foot binding (simplified Chinese: 缠足; traditional Chinese: 纏足; pinyin: chánzú), or footbinding, was the Chinese custom of breaking and tightly binding the feet of young girls to change their shape and size. Feet altered by foot binding were known as lotus feet and the shoes made for them were known as lotus shoes.
A traditional saying in Japanese translates as "You don't know until you have worn geta." This means roughly, "you can't tell the results until the game is over." The original motivation for wearing the high platform shoes was not fashion, but practicality: to keep feet and kimono from coming in contact with things on the ground, such as dirt ...
Waraji over indigo-blue tabi, the sock colour digitally altered for clarity Similar four- and six-warp Chinese sandals, c. 1930 (other views). Waraji (草鞋 （ わらじ ）) (Japanese pronunciation: [w̜aɺadʑi]) are light tie-on sandals, made from (usually straw) ropemaking fibers, that were the standard footwear of the common people in Japan.
Some designs only fit over the tip of the foot, giving the illusion of a small bound foot when worn under a long skirt. [5] The designs and stylistic choices of lotus shoes varied depending on factors such as regional cultures, local traditions, and economic conditions. [3] The practice of footbinding was the intense swaddling of feet.
To sit seiza-style, one must first be kneeling on the floor, folding one's legs underneath one's thighs, while resting the buttocks on the heels.The ankles are turned outward as the tops of the feet are lowered so that, in a slight "V" shape, the tops of the feet are flat on the floor and big toes overlapped, the right always on top of the left, and the buttocks are finally lowered all the way ...
It is common for Japanese businesses to set out a small tray near a cash register so customers can place their money on the tray rather than handing it directly to the cashier. If a business provides such a tray, it is a breach of etiquette to disregard it and instead hold out the money for the cashier to take by hand. [ 5 ]
Japanese tabi are usually understood today to be a kind of split-toed sock that is not meant to be worn alone outdoors, much like regular socks. However, tabi were originally a kind of leather shoe made from a single animal hide, as evidenced by historical usage and the earlier form of the word, tanbi, written 単皮, with the kanji literally signifying "single hide".
Like many Japanese sandals, zori are easily slipped on and off, [1] [a] which is important in Japan, where shoes are removed and put back on when entering and leaving a house, [3] and where tying shoelaces would be impractical when wearing traditional clothing. The traditional forms of zori are seen when worn with other traditional clothing. [1]