Okobo

File:Okobo pokkurigeta.jpg

A pair of Template:Transliteration with a woven bamboo top surface

, also referred to as Template:Transliteration, or Template:Transliteration (all onomatopoeic terms taken from the sound Template:Transliteration make when walking), are traditional Japanese wooden sandals worn by young girls for Template:Transliteration, young women during Coming of Age Day and apprentice geisha in some regions of Japan.

Template:Transliteration are typically made from a solid block of paulownia wood, a lightweight hardwood native to East Asia and often cultivated there. Template:Transliteration range from Template:Cvt tall, and can be decorated, lacquered black or left plain; the plain varieties are not waxed. Template:Transliteration are kept on the foot with a thong strap known as the Template:Transliteration; this is tied to the shoe by the use of knots passed through drilled holes – one at the front of the shoe, through the underside of the slope, and two through the central block of the shoe. The centre of the shoe is drilled out, leaving it hollow, and the ends of the Template:Transliteration are tied in this hollow. The front knot may hold a small bell in place, and the hole is typically covered with a small metal cover known as the Template:Transliteration (Template:Linktext, literally Template:Linktext Template:Transliteration, "front" + Template:Linktext Template:Transliteration, "metal"). In smaller Template:Transliteration, the bell is secured by the back two Template:Transliteration knots.

The Template:Transliteration worn by apprentice geisha are generally taller than most, being Template:Cvt tall, and have either no finish or, in the summer months, a plain black lacquered finish. The Template:Transliteration worn by young girls and women are generally shorter, and often feature multicoloured, lacquered designs on the sides of the shoe. Template:Transliteration worn for Template:Transliteration celebrations may instead feature brocade fabric decorating the outside of the shoe, with a woven bamboo base (known as Template:Transliteration) on top.

Template:Transliteration straps can be made of any material for young women and girls, though they are typically made of brocade fabric, velvet or otherwise decorated silk or polyester silk. For apprentice geisha, Template:Transliteration are always worn plain, with the colour worn indicating the stage of an apprentice's training: red straps are worn by new apprentices, whereas yellow straps are worn by senior apprentices at the end of their apprenticeship.

• Side view of another pair. Red-gold-green brocade Template:Transliteration, wood lacquered in red with gold and green decoration
  Side view of another pair. Red-gold-green brocade Template:Transliteration, wood lacquered in red with gold and green decoration
• The same pair as adjacent, showing Template:Transliteration (four-warp woven bamboo-skin topsole; see zōri)
  The same pair as adjacent, showing Template:Transliteration (four-warp woven bamboo-skin topsole; see zōri)
• The same pair from below, showing Template:Transliteration more clearly than side view
  The same pair from below, showing Template:Transliteration more clearly than side view
• A third pair from below. Black lacquer sides, red plush Template:Transliteration, no Template:Transliteration
  A third pair from below. Black lacquer sides, red plush Template:Transliteration, no Template:Transliteration

See also

• Geta
• Jandal
• List of items traditionally worn in Japan
• List of shoe styles
• Template:Transliteration
• Template:Transliteration

External links

• Template:Commons category-inline

Template:Japan-culture-stub Template:Asbox