Shoes

Traditional footwear is a highlight of our collection. The Museum has many different pairs of geta, traditional wooden clogs, but take a look at some of the other items in our “shoe department.” Our collection varies in the materials used—wood, lacquer, silk, straw—and the shape and height of the sole. Some have painted designs, while others are natural materials. Can you imagine what it would be like to walk in a pair of these? Now take a closer look. Can you find a pair of sneakers too?

Name	Description	Object ID
Uwabaki Shoes	Uwabaki are a type of indoor shoe, in this case to be worn at school. This pair is for a young girl and is beige with a canvas top, rubber soles and an elastic strap. There are words written in hiragana (phonetic Japanese characters) at the top toe area of the shoes, which...	2006.X.85
Geta	This pair of red wooden geta features a rectangular footbed with rounded corners. The top, bottom, and outer sides of the heels are painted red, and there are three flower designs in red, pale yellow, black and blue-gray painted on the footbed of each shoe. The insides of the heels are...	2009.124.1 ab
Snow Boots	This pair of child's yuki-gutsu (also called fuka-gutsu), or snow boots, are made of woven straw. Straw was used to keep out moisture and cold when walking in the snow. There is a tight side-to-side weave across the soles. Open vertical straw staves are bound with black twine...	2009.94.1 a-b
Geta	This pair of wooden geta, or sandals, are stained with a red-brown color and feature a carved grain design called "kamakura-bori." Kamakura-bori is a style of wood carving in which the artist first carves an image, then coats it in colored lacquer and polishes it. The...	AB 1076
Zori	This is a pair of women's outdoor summer sandals, or zori. The zori are made of straw with dark rubber soles, and have v-shaped thonged straps with a striped pattern. The sandals have a floral pattern in faded turquoise and lavender embroidered on the top and symbols of pine,...	AB 55-14 s2
Zori	This pair of zori (sandals) would have been worn by a young woman. They are made of red lacquered wood, and both shoes are somewhat chipped. Pink lines are painted on the sides; a floral design in pink, green, gold, and blue is painted on top of each sandal. The design is mirrored on...	AB 56-6
Geta	This is a pair of child's geta (sandals). They have an orange lacquered wood outsole with a black and gold design of leaves and a thick black vertical stripe on the heel. The insoles are made of rice straw, and thonged straps in a v-shape are black and orange fabric with a diamond...	AB 58-6
Geta	This pair of wooden geta (sandals) have straw-covered soles. The wood used may be Paulownia wood, or "kiri" in Japanese. The straps are made of purple velvet and are replacements from roughly the 1960s for older greenish-brown straps. The undersides have a small metal fixture...	AB 626
Geta	This pair of wooden geta, or traditional Japanese footwear, features dark green cloth straps. The straps have a tan pattern of hexagons with four dots inside. These geta are quite high and would have protected the wearer from rain or snow. Geta are a form of...	AB 66-15
Tabi	This pair of tabi, or white cotton slippers, have a white cotton canvas sole. There are four metal and thread enclosures at the ankle, and the toe is split to fit around the thong of a traditional-type shoe (such as geta). Tabi are traditional Japanese ankle-...	AB 77-17
Geta	This pair of wooden geta (sandals) have blue and yellow straps. The geta are traditional in form, but the straps are more modern. The wood is dark and has a particularly strong grain. Geta are a form of traditional Japanese footwear that resembles both clogs...	AB 81-102
Shoe	This pair of child's play shoes features characters from the anime "Saikyo Robo Daioja." The shoes have white canvas uppers with white rubber soles. The canvas uppers are covered in plastic decorated with the "Saikyo Robo Daioja" anime characters in bright colors. The soles...	AB 82-33
Geta	This pair of tall wooden geta (sandals) have an attached rain protector of black painted canvas. The thonged straps were once tan but have been replaced with dark brown straps. A metal fixture on the toe of each shoe covers where the straps are tied. The rain protectors are attached...	AB 821 b
Waraji Sandals	This pair of waraji, or ice straw sandals, were made for a child by an artist named Keizaburo Imaizumi in Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyūshū, Japan. They were crafted in the traditional zori fashion, with red cloth woven in at the toes, at the middle of the shoes, and at the heels....	AB 84-17
Slipper	This pair of blue house slippers for children, size 18 cm, features a pattern of boys and girls in nightgowns holding moons, stars, and flowers. Among the children in the design are smaller purple stars, yellow moons, and pink bows as well. Blue synthetic fur lines the edges, and there is blue...	AB 85-42
Slipper	This pair of woven slippers features pink soles and pink-and-tan striped tops. They have an open back and a white bottom. In Japanese culture, people remove their shoes when entering homes and other buildings, especially where the floors may have rugs, polished wood floors, or tatami...	AB 87-7
Zori	This very formal pair of zori (sandals) are made of five layers of board covered in orange, blue, and gold silk. The thonged toe straps are orange and gold and attached in a v-shape. The top layer of the zori has a geometric design in orange, white, and gold. They would have...	AB 895 s3
Geta	This pair of wooden geta, or sandals, is made of keyaki wood from the zelkova tree. The thonged toe straps are made of leather, painted green with some patterning. Some of the paint from the toe straps has rubbed off on the wood. Geta are a form of traditional...	AB 997 s1
Tabi	This pair of white nylon tabi covers would be worn over tabi socks to keep them clean. They are made like the socks, with a split toe that would allow them to be worn with geta or zori. Tabi are traditional Japanese ankle-height, split-toe...	AB XX 164
Geta	This pair of a young girl's geta (sandals) is made of orange lacquered wood with a painted floral design in brown and gold. The shoes are painted as mirror images, with blue and gold curves on one side and a circular design with blue petals on other. They have tan and orange velveteen...	AB XX 96

Collections