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Ever wondered what the Japanese used for footwear prior to western imperialism brought Adidas to the land of the rising sun? Me neither, but if you've ever seen shows like Samurai Jack or any number of anime set in Japan's pre-industrial past you may have noticed characters wearing a type of shoe called geta.
These are hard wooden sandals with two "teeth" (ha in Japanese) that raise the wearer above the ground and allow for an interesting step and sound. There are still Japanese elders who have fond memories of the time when the streets of Japan were still alive with the clack of geta and after figuring out what these shoes were called and their historic significance, I decided it would be fun to make my own pair. They're pretty easy to make and when you're done you'll have a set of geta that are custom-fit for your feet, as well as some of the noisiest shoes this side of Chuckie Finster.
These are hard wooden sandals with two "teeth" (ha in Japanese) that raise the wearer above the ground and allow for an interesting step and sound. There are still Japanese elders who have fond memories of the time when the streets of Japan were still alive with the clack of geta and after figuring out what these shoes were called and their historic significance, I decided it would be fun to make my own pair. They're pretty easy to make and when you're done you'll have a set of geta that are custom-fit for your feet, as well as some of the noisiest shoes this side of Chuckie Finster.
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As with any footwear, having the proper measurements can make a big difference in geta fitting well or not. The positioning and height of the teeth, length and width of the sole, and placement of the thong are important to getting a good fit. Luckily for you and I someone has made a great calculator that'll give you all the exact measurements you need for your foot. Remember to follow the directions for measuring your foot since well-fitted geta will actually be a couple centimeters shorter than the length of your foot. You can find the geta calculator here. Once you have measurements you can get your materials.
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www.rhinohide.cx/tousando/yoriaku/waraji.html
which is a site for making samurai costuming and equipment for study or SCA. I used one of the linked diagrams to make a pair of waraji-type sandals out of cotton clothes line, which worked pretty well, except that they were REALLY PAINFUL to wear for the first few weeks. Very comfortable after breaking in, but the nubby surface was really awful until it smoothed out a bit. They were also ideal for walking in tidepools, because they gripped the rocky surfaces well and protected my feet.
I clicked on it, but the website doesn't show up.
I tried google searching as well.
Did you mistype the link at all?
There is a good waraji how-to on this very website though.
1. 'authentic' geta are made by carving out of one block of wood as opposed to using dowels to support the teeth.
2. reason being, that technology was more used in house construction and less in craft.
3. also a single piece is and will always be stronger and even though they had rice glue and fish glue these were not as water insoluble as the synthetic glues we have nowadays.
did not mean to give a history lesson but I thought this info was imporatnt to know
Just a thought.
www.instructables.com/id/Geta-Shoelace-Strap/
I think it would be cool to see other variations and ways to make them and other ancient footwear.