Tabi

Tabi (Japanese足 袋) are a type of Japanese, ankle-high socks with seperate big toe.

Description

They are worn usually to Zori or Geta (both sandals). Are usual white Tabi; But men also wear black occasionally. There are also patterned and colored tabi. However, these are rare. Today there are also stretch versions that bear particularly close at the foot of what is regarded in Japan as aesthetically.

There is further enhanced version of the Tabi (地下 足 袋, Jika - tabi lit. " Tabi, which touch the ground " ), often with rubber coating on the sole, which are carried at no extra sandals or shoes. This type Tabi is supported for example by construction workers, farmers or gardeners because it provides a better grip than Zori. The space between the big toe and the other toes is also used for climbing scaffolds or ropes.

In the martial art Bujinkan include black and white in Kyūdō Tabi for workout clothes.