Okobo

{{Short description|Traditional Japanese platform clogs}} {{About|the traditional wooden platform clogs worn by girls and young women in Japan|the Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State|Okobo, Nigeria|the ethnic group|Okobo people}} {{Italic title}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}} thumb|A pair of {{Transliteration|ja|okobo}} with a woven bamboo top surface

{{Nihongo||おこぼ|'''Okobo'''}}, also referred to as {{Transliteration|ja|pokkuri, bokkuri}}, or {{Transliteration|ja|koppori geta}} (all onomatopoeic terms taken from the sound {{Transliteration|ja|okobo}} make when walking),<ref>新村出『広辞苑第五版』岩波書店、1998年、980頁・2463頁。</ref> are traditional Japanese wooden sandals worn by young girls for {{Transliteration|ja|Shichi-Go-San}}, young women during Coming of Age Day and apprentice geisha in some regions of Japan.

{{Transliteration|ja|Okobo}} are typically made from a solid block of paulownia wood, a lightweight hardwood native to East Asia and often cultivated there. {{Transliteration|ja|Okobo}} range from {{cvt|10–15|cm|in}} tall, and can be decorated, lacquered black or left plain; the plain varieties are not waxed. {{Transliteration|ja|Okobo}} are kept on the foot with a thong strap known as the {{Transliteration|ja|hanao}}; this is tied to the shoe by the use of knots passed through drilled holes – one at the front of the shoe, through the underside of the slope, and two through the central block of the shoe. The centre of the shoe is drilled out, leaving it hollow, and the ends of the {{Transliteration|ja|hanao}} are tied in this hollow. The front knot may hold a small bell in place, and the hole is typically covered with a small metal cover known as the {{Transliteration|ja|maegane}} ({{linktext|lang=ja|前金}}, literally {{linktext|lang=ja|前}} {{Transliteration|ja|mae}}, "front" + {{linktext|lang=ja|金}} {{Transliteration|ja|kane}}, "metal"). In smaller {{Transliteration|ja|okobo}}, the bell is secured by the back two {{Transliteration|ja|hanao}} knots.

The {{Transliteration|ja|okobo}} worn by apprentice geisha are generally taller than most, being {{cvt|13–15|cm|in}} tall,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dalby |first1=Liza |date=2000 |title=Geisha |url=https://archive.org/details/geisha00dalb |url-access=registration |edition=1998 anniversary |location=London |publisher=Vintage Random House |page=[https://archive.org/details/geisha00dalb/page/325 325] |isbn=0-09-928638-6}}</ref> and have either no finish or, in the summer months, a plain black lacquered finish. The {{Transliteration|ja|okobo}} worn by young girls and women are generally shorter, and often feature multicoloured, lacquered designs on the sides of the shoe. {{Transliteration|ja|Okobo}} worn for {{Transliteration|ja|Shichi-Go-San}} celebrations may instead feature brocade fabric decorating the outside of the shoe, with a woven bamboo base (known as {{Transliteration|ja|tatami omote}}) on top.

{{Transliteration|ja|Hanao}} straps can be made of any material for young women and girls, though they are typically made of brocade fabric, velvet or otherwise decorated silk or polyester silk. For apprentice geisha, {{Transliteration|ja|hanao}} are always worn plain, with the colour worn indicating the stage of an apprentice's training: red straps are worn by new apprentices, whereas yellow straps are worn by senior apprentices at the end of their apprenticeship.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Takamaro |title=Kyoto Gion Tourist Information: Okoko |url=https://www.kyoto-gion.org/archives/2004/02/post_21.php |website=kyoto-gion.org |publisher=Kyoto Gion Tourist Information |access-date=24 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724042254/https://www.kyoto-gion.org/archives/2004/02/post_21.php |archive-date=24 July 2008}}</ref>

<gallery mode=packed heights=150> File:Clogs, pair (AM 6337-2).jpg|Side view of another pair. Red-gold-green brocade {{Transliteration|ja|hanao}}, wood lacquered in red with gold and green decoration File:Clogs, pair (AM 6337-1).jpg|The same pair as adjacent, showing {{Transliteration|ja|takagawa omote}} (four-warp woven bamboo-skin topsole; see zōri) File:Clogs, pair (AM 6337-5).jpg|The same pair from below, showing {{Transliteration|ja|maegane}} more clearly than side view File:Clogs, pair (AM 1975.96-2).jpg|A third pair from below. Black lacquer sides, red plush {{Transliteration|ja|hanao}}, no {{Transliteration|ja|maegane}} </gallery>

==See also== * Geta * Flip-flops * List of items traditionally worn in Japan * List of shoe styles * {{Transliteration|ja|Tabi}} * {{Transliteration|ja|Waraji}}

==References== {{reflist}}

== External links == * {{Commons category-inline}}

Category:Sandals Category:Japanese footwear Category:Japanese words and phrases