DESIGN

Kokontozai: KASHIYUKA’s Shop of Japanese Arts and Crafts —Gyōda Tabi

『カーサブルータス』2024年11月号より

November 8, 2024 | Design | KASHIYUKA’s Shop of Japanese Arts and Crafts | photo_Keisuke Fukamizu hair & make-up_Masako Osuga editor_Masae Wako　translation_ Mika Yoshida & David G. Imber

Searching all of Japan for handcrafted items that express its heart and soul, our proprietor, KASHIYUKA, presents things that bring a bit of luxury to everyday life. This time she travels to the city of Gyōda in Saitama prefecture, known as the “tabi town”, and encounters these unique, traditional split-toed socks made by highly experienced crafters.

At Kineya Tabi, established 1929. Gyōda tabi, along with the tabi-gura, the building in which the tabi are stored, are officially recognized as artifacts of Japan’s National Heritage. Thrilled by watching the toe portion being stitched, KASHIYUKA marveled at the multitasking involved, exclaiming, “it’s like playing an electronic instrument!”

The crisp, comfortable feeling of traditional Japanese kimono starts with clean, white tabi, the famous, split-toed sock-like footwear. Researching the garment’s history, I learned about the Gyōda tabi, the traditional craft made famous in Gyōda city, Saitama prefecture.

“It began in the mid-Edo period [1603 – 1868]. Cotton flourished in the area referred to as Oshi, which is now Gyōda city, and making tabi became a thriving vocation, particularly among the wives of samurai and other townspeople. By the end of the Meiji era [1868 – 1912] tabi had already become popular with the general public. By the beginning of the modern Showa era [1926 – 1989] it’s said that Gyōda city alone had produced 84 million pairs,” says Mr. Nakazawa Takayuki, Kineya Tabi’s representative and our guide through the factory.

Purchase No. 78【Gyōda Tabi】Restorative and highly crafted, this footwear is the foundation of traditional Japanese clothing.

He told me that tabi were, at first, laced and tied. Kohazeh, the hook and eye fasteners that are used in modern tabi were inspired by the hooks on Western clothing of the day. I learned that the sizes are subdivided by foot width, height of instep, and so on, so that even for a single 23 cm tabi there are five or six variations available. We then toured the workshop, where the constant sound of foot-pedal sewing machines surrounded us.