News New old stock: 100-yer-old geta discovered in Mie

[thomas]

Traditional Japanese wooden geta sandals believed to have been made about 100 years ago have been discovered at a long-established footwear shop in Nabari, Mie Prefecture . They appear to be ready to wear even today. The over 120-year-old Hagioka Shoten, in Nabari, Mie Prefecture, has provided footwear at a post town along an ancient road connecting Nara Prefecture and the Ise area. Fifth-generation store owner Kisako Hagioka, 61, recommends people wear geta instead of shoes even in this era of Western-style clothing.

Photo credit: Mainichi/Naoto Yamanaka​

The discovery of the 100-year-old geta reinforced Hagioka's thoughts on the traditional footwear. When getting the second floor ready for repair work to the roof of the store (which is also her home), Hagioka found an unfamiliar old box. In it were about 500 pairs of geta and other items that appeared to have been made between the Meiji era (1868-1912) and early Showa period (1926-1989). Rare items including a pair of geta with a wooden body streamline for comfort, and a "koppori" geta with a Japanese lacquer design and mother-of-pearl inlay on its sides. In addition to footwear for adults, there were also geta for children, all of which could be worn right away by attaching geta thongs. Hagioka smiled and said, "Even if they were made nearly 100 years ago, they are still in excellent condition and can be used today. Since I've managed to find them, I'd like everyone to wear them." In addition to geta, she found a postcard-sized wooden object. Its entire front side was covered with Chinese characters for numbers from one to 10, then 100, 10,000 and 100 million.

100-yr old traditional - and still wearable - 'geta' sandals found at Japan shop - The Mainichi

NABARI, Mie -- Traditional Japanese wooden

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