Try to imagine.
At the sock sales floor, there are many types of socks lined up.
Each and every sock has its own distinct flavor.
Although socks may not seem to have largely changed over the years,
it is not as if the shape and functionality found in current socks existed before.
Interested in taking a peak into the history of socks?
2nd - Leather tabi – the samurai's best friend
Aristocrats that lived with chairs and tables during the Aska and Nara period,
began living in stilt houses during the Heian period and sat on the floor.
It is surprising that the lifestyle based on sitting on seats existed earlier
than the "floor lifestyle" which seems closely connected to what we think as Japanese culture.
Furthermore, with the decline of the Tang Dynasty with Michizane Sugawara's abolition of the envoy,
a shift occurred from an age where imported goods from the West were constantly welcome,
to an age where there was new found respect towards culture that was uniquely Japanese.
Even during the Heian period the aristocrats continued to live an elegant lifestyle without having to do manual labor.
Therefore even for clothing they were following traditions and wearing shitouzu and shoes which their elders ordered to
be acceptable items of clothing. Also, it was from this Era that regional peasant samurai appeared. The samurai lifestyle
was very different from the court nobles.
While they were of samurai status, since there were many with a regional background as peasants,
their lifestyle usually consisted of farm work and when the enemy was approaching,
they would take their weapons in their hands and begin to fight.
For samurai that lived such an active lifestyle, there was demand for of course clothes but also footwear
that would allow more freedom of movement than what the aristocrats wore.
It was then when footwear such as the zoori (Japanese style sandals) and waraji (straw sandals) appeared.
Both were essential items because the sandal straps allowed them to walk firmly on the ground.
Furthermore, these samurai that began to wear this active footwear, started to wear them with animal leather split toe socks.
Tabi (split toe socks) are also made from sewn together linen similar to Shitouzu which was mentioned last
time referring to socks made from sewn together brocade.
What is different from shitouzu is that the tabi are split toed,
and there is no feeling of discomfort since there is no stitching on the sole due to the development of
Japanese dressmaking techniques.
Although the derivation of the word tabi is not clear,
one explanation describes that tabi is derived from tanbi meaning one layer of leather.
It is also said that the word tabi in hiragana and not kanji began to be used during the Muromachi period.