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Waraji (草鞋) are sandals made from straw rope that in the past were the standard footwear of the common people in Japan. Waraji were also worn by the samurai class and foot soldiers (ashigaru) during the feudal era of Japan.
Contents
Description
Traditionally the rope material was made of rice straw; however, waraji can be made out of various other materials such as hemp, stalks of myōga, palm fibers, and cotton thread. Now they are mostly worn by traditional Buddhist monks.
Traditionally, the Japanese wear the waraji with their toes protruding slightly over the front edge. However, there are no set rules or guidelines on wearing waraji.
Tying
How waraji are tied depends on the user. For instance, a monk ties the waraji differently from a farmer, a soldier ties it differently from a townsman, and so on.