Jika-tabi
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Jika-Tabi (地下足袋: "tabi that contact the ground") are a type of heavy-duty footwear worn in Japan. Also known outside Japan as tabi boots, they are modelled on tabi, traditional split-toe Japanese footwear.
Being made of heavier, tougher material and often having rubber soles, they are often preferred by construction workers, farmers and gardeners, rickshaw-pullers, and other workmen. Like other tabi, jika-tabi have divided toe areas so they can be worn with slip-on thonged footwear, but they resemble boots and function as outer footwear rather than as socks.
Though slowly being replaced by steel-toed, rigid-sole shoes in some industries, many workers prefer them for the softness of their soles. This gives wearers tactile contact with the ground, and the concomitant gripping ability lets them use their feet more agilely than rigid-soled shoes allow: For instance, people who traverse girders on construction sites like to know what is under their feet, and craft practitioners such as carpenters and gardeners additionally use their feet as if they were an extra pair of hands, for example to hold objects in place. A disadvantage of jika-tabi is that they provide no hard foot protection against falling, protruding, or sharp objects.
Shojiro Ishibashi, the founder of major tire company Bridgestone Corporation, is credited with their innovation.
Outside Japan—where they are available from online and martial-arts shops—jika-tabi are appreciated by martial arts practitioners who often believe that jika-tabi were once worn by ninja and samurai; some people also like wearing them for exercise, specifically trail-running, walking, and climbing.
