What do Japanese people wear?

[lottieandmia]

Dd (aged 9) came home from school with this question to answer. So I told her to write that Japanese people wear what we wear (a quick google to show this confirmed this to her)

However, it seems the teacher was after a different answer involving some elaborate costume. AIBU to think this is not a good approach?

They have slippers for every room. I went to Japan many years ago and it was Jan/Feb time and during this time ladies that had turned 20 in the previous 12 months went to the Meiji (not spelt right!) shrine and was blessed and had sake in their full kimono get up. It was brilliant to see.

Also the sumo wrestlers walked around in their get up with a grey robe as well.

I did that once thisis I was pretty embarrassed!

Do you not spend all day changing your shoes? How do you differentiate between the slippers- are they different colours/designs?

OCht amy I know but i just wanted to look cool and trendy i knew about superdry

french when I was (briefly) at uni there, we had blue plastic slippers for the shower room, brown for the toilet room and then our own for the bedrooms. It only takes a second to slip them on and off so not much time wastage.

mrsjay

Yeah, that never goes down well, Amy - Almost as bad as taking soap into the bath that the whole family are planning to get into later...

I did spend all day changing shoes. Slip-ons were the way forward.

Ah, in-laws didn't have kitchen slippers, I don't think. I was too busy wearing toilet slippers everywhere to notice maybe.

Yes, you change shoes a lot! Your personal indoor slippers will be unique, so no different to picking out your own shoes. Any guest indoor slippers are usually plainer, often cream, and fabric - all matching so it is obvious. Toilet and kitchen slippers are plastic.

The other mistake foreigners make is taking their shoes off before they enter the house. You actually come in outside shoes into the entrance area and then step up into the house proper. (done properly, you do this leaving your shoes pointing to the outside ready to put on when you go).

Ah Caterpillar, you are good. i had forgotten all that.

there is a Japanese shop near here (strangely it seems to cater to Japanese tourists) and sells traditional Japanese wares. The kimonos are so beautiful, the designs are feathery andclight, they look hand painted. I'd love to dress up in one sometime. I wonder if they are comfortable. Are they still worn with the traditional wooden clogs? My dd is really interested in Japan so she has a lot of books on the country. In illustrations they are shown with those wooden shoesbut I am not sure if they are really still worn.

Oh yes, geta, the wooden sandal. Sometimes old people wear them in the street, they make a lovely sound.

OP, your daughter could also look into what sumo wrestlers wear for a match. That might be fun.

We wore the traditional wooden ones on an event the uni put on. I tripped in them argh

You do see sumo wrestlers wearing geta if you are somewhere where there are sumo stables too.

Sounds interesting. I quite want some special indoor slippers now.

What's the reasoning behind it? Or is it one of those things that has always been that way?

It was to keep the different inside floors clean.

If you remember that traditionally Japanese people slept on futons on the floor, often in the same room they used for living during the day, this makes sense.

Would you wear shoes in your bed? Or go to the toilet barefoot?

I read once that its to do with rice mat floors and keeping them clean and dry? Not 100% sure though.

You don't wear slippers in tatami mat rooms...

I blame google for that one then when we came back, I googled why and that's what I stumbled across. Always good to learn the real reason though! I feel Japan-sick now :(

humm tatami rooms .....

Me too... shall we have a Mumsnet trip to Japan?

I feel Japan-sick now me too!

Oooh yes lets go! It'll take me years a while to save up though!

Little blue sailor suits. I'm serious. All the girls wear them to school. I found them very weird when I lived in Tokyo.

like this

When they're not at school, then things like this

I had a sailor suit uniform like that and threw it away. I regret that now.

do the bathroom slippers only stay in the bathroom and do you step into them from your inside slippers (intrigued at bathroom slippers)