You've probably seen someone wearing a geta – wooden shoes, even in movies. Ever wondered why? What is the need? What is it for? In this article we will clear all these doubts.
Geta [下駄] is considered a sandal, with a wooden base, similar to a clog, it serves to prevent the foot from ing the ground. They are worn with traditional Japanese clothing, such as kimono ou yukata, or during the summer months.
Table of Contents
What is Geta for?
His goal is to prevent the foot from coming into with snow or rain and keep the foot dry; it also prevents the kimono from dragging on the ground. In its simplest form, geta is a thick wooden sandal ed on a single piece of wood. The bottom wooden piece is called a tooth (ha [歯]). Using just 1 tooth requires quite a bit of balance, so today most have 2 teeth.
As geta are normally used only with yukata or other informal clothes, there is no need to wear socks, in some more formal cases that use kimono, they prefer to wear the sandals zori made of rice straw or other fibers.
The reason for using these high platform shoes is not because of fashion, but for practical reasons. If you wear an expensive kimono, you wouldn't want to get it dirty with mud.
Curiosities involving Geta
Karankoron - Geta makes a noise when you walk. In the Japanese language, this sound is called "karankoron".
Geisha - As geisha and maiko (apprentices) often wear a type of geta called okobo (or "pokkuri" and "koppori"), okobo are very tall and usually made from a block of willow wood rather than having teeth.
Breaking the wire - Breaking the geta thread is considered bad luckFor this reason, many people avoid buying cheap shoes, but they are surprisingly easy to break. It is still possible to find places to repair them when broken.
Tetsugeta - They are iron geta, weighing between 3 to 5 kilograms. Historically, they were used by students of martial arts like karate, to strengthen the legs.
Types of Geta
There are different types of geta, they are usually categorized by some special characteristic in each of them. Now let's list the types of Japanese clogs that exist:
Ashida [足駄] - High clogs; rain clogs;
Yamageta [山下駄] - Mountain geta, rough geta, usually made from Japanese cedar;
Kōshi [厚歯] - Clogs with thick teeth in the anterior-posterior direction. Called Bunkara by some students.
Yanagigeta [柳下駄] - low geta made of willow.
Umageta [馬下駄] - ancestral made of cedar with different teeth and a square shape. Similar to a horse shoe.
Komageta [駒下駄] - a clog that can be worn in any weather. Introduced in the late 17th century and widely used by everyone.
Kirigeta [桐下駄] - Initially painted black, it was used as a luxury item;
Tetsugeta [鉄下駄] - Iron clogs instead of wood.
Takageta [高下駄] - High clogs with long teeth in a vertical direction.
Tagette [田下駄] - The oldest footwear in Japan, which was extracted from remains of the Yayoi period. It is believed to have been used in rice fields and marshes.
Ipponba [一本歯] - Used for walking in mountains, used by monks who practiced in the mountains. It is said to be the origin of the tengu also called tengu clog.
Yoshiwarageta [吉原下駄] - Almost the same as Yamashita, but made of cedar. The thong is made of bamboo skin.
Sukerokugeta [助六下駄] - The clog that the main character is wearing in Kabuki 18 "Sukeroku". Became popular at the time of its premiere (1713).
Ukongeta [右近下駄] - A toothless obstruction with a curved surface. The area around the foot is excavated.
Hiyorigeta [日和下駄] - geta for dry weather.
Toshihisageta [利久下駄] - It is said that Senrikyu invented it.
azumaget [吾妻下駄] - type of geta for women with tatami insole.
Nikkōgeta [日光下駄] - Traditional from Nikko.
Odawarageta [小田原下駄] - From Odawara, tooth roots do not appear and can be replaced.
Shinshoku-yō geta [神職用下駄] - Round white synthetic leather clogs worn by priests.
Pokkurigeta [ぽっくり下駄] - They got this name because of the sound, they are used by geisha and maiko.
Getasukēto [下駄スケート] - geta with ice skate blades.
robbed [露卯] - Clogs with different teeth, where you can see the hozo of the teeth on the table.
Hachitsuwari (yatsuwari) [八ツ割（ヤツワリ）] - Toothless clog.
Videos about Geta
To wrap up the article, I'll leave a video for you to see the sound that the geta makes, how to use it and walk with it. See that it's not a big deal.
