Tabi
Tabi are traditional Japanese socks with a divided toe, worn with thonged footwear such as zori and geta. The form dates back to the fifteenth century, and its outdoor descendant, the rubber-soled jika-tabi, is still worn by construction workers, gardeners, rickshaw drivers and festival-goers.
Definition
A tabi separates the big toe from the others so that the thong of a sandal can pass between them. It is open at the back so the foot can slip in, and it closes with fasteners along the opening called kohaze, small flat metal clasps that hook into loops of thread. Tabi are worn by men and women with formal zori and sometimes the less formal geta, and white, the most common colour, is worn in formal situations such as the tea ceremony.
Jika-tabi, tabi that touch the ground, are a separate thing: made of heavier, tougher material and often with rubber soles, they resemble boots, reach roughly to the mid-calf and are worn alone as outdoor footwear.
Jika-tabi have since branched for particular work: knee-high versions made entirely of rubber for rice fields and other wet, muddy ground, steel-toed versions for building sites, and matsuri tabi, named for the festivals where they are commonly worn, with extra cushioning in the sole. Coloured tabi appear in kabuki costume and with casual dress. In our handling, these variants are worth naming exactly, because the sole and the height tell you what a pair was made to do.
Origin
Tabi were originally a kind of leather shoe made from a single animal hide, as the earlier form of the word, tanbi, single hide, suggests. As Japanese footwear evolved, the split toe appeared towards the late Heian period to accommodate the sandal thong. Outdoor tabi were reinforced with soles of cloth, leather or straw. In 1922 the brothers Tokujiro and Shojiro Ishibashi, founders of the tyre company Bridgestone, are credited with the invention of the rubber-soled jika-tabi, now the dominant outdoor form.
The split toe has also travelled into fashion. The Belgian house Maison Margiela launched its Tabi boot on the runway in 1988.
Key facts
| Form | Split-toe sock, open at the back |
|---|---|
| Fastening | Kohaze clasps |
| Dating | From the fifteenth century; split toe from the late Heian period |
| Worn with | Zori, geta |
| Outdoor form | Jika-tabi, rubber-soled from 1922 |
| Fashion descendant | Maison Margiela Tabi boot |
How to identify it
- Count the clasps. In our handling, more kohaze means a taller tabi; workwear jika-tabi often carry many more than indoor socks.
- Read the sole. A cloth or woven-straw sole marks an older outdoor tabi; a moulded rubber sole marks the jika-tabi after 1922.
- Material. Indigo cotton, sometimes stitched in sashiko, is the classic working cloth. Our entry on sashiko explains the stitch.
- Sizing. In our handling, Japanese tabi are sized in centimetres of foot length, and a split toe fits differently from a round-toed shoe; see our jika-tabi size guide.
Where it appears in the collection
The house keeps working tabi on the jika-tabi from Okayama shelf, including the Kenshi trainer jika-tabi and the Yuki walker in white. Antique cloth appears too, such as a pair of indigo-dyed sashiko tabi with kohaze clasps, and the fashion line in a pair of Maison Margiela Tabi ankle boots. For a longer read, see our guide to jika-tabi work boots.
Related entries
- Hanten: the workman's coat worn over the same feet.
- Haori: the formal jacket worn with white tabi.
- Boro: the mended cloth of rural workwear.
Sources
- Tabi, encyclopaedia entry, sections on history, use and jika-tabi. wikipedia.org
- Jika-tabi, encyclopaedia entry, history section. wikipedia.org
Last reviewed 15 November 2026. The Japonista Curation and Concierge Team, Tokyo, Japan.