Japanese Invented Flip-Flop

choi

Who Made That Flip-Flop? New York Times Magazine, Sept 2, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/0 ... that-flip-flop.html
("Elizabeth Semmelhack, senior curator at the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, says that the flip-flop probably originated in the factories of Japan")

Note:
(a) zōri  草履 【ぞうり】 (n): "zori (Japanese footwear sandals)
Jim Breen's online Japanese dictionary
(b) Bata Shoe Museum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bata_Shoe_Museum
(Sonja Bata, a female shoe collector)
(c) The article quoted Frank Johnson as saying in 1960 that “we pad around in floppy hunks of rubber a sensible coolie wouldn’t wear into a rice paddy.”

pad (vi): "to go on foot : WALK; especially : to walk with or as if with padded feet <the dog padded along beside him> <padding around in bedroom slippers>"
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pad

(d) geta 下駄 【げた】 (n): "geta; Japanese wooden clogs"
(e) 下駄
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%8B%E9%A7%84
* View graphics only.
* The following three are SOME kinds of geta.
(f) 田下駄
www.footandtoy.jp/event/2005/h_collection/hc05.htm

It is similar to a snowshoe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowshoe
(g) For tabata geta (which makes the wearer look tall, according to Japanese Wiki), see
低歯下駄  高歯下駄
http://www.footandtoy.jp/event/2005/h_collection/hc03.htm

* takaba 高歯 【たかば】 (n): "clogs with high supports"
* taka 高 【たか】 (n): "highness"  
* ha 歯 【は】 (n): "tooth"
* Both "taka" and "ha" are Japanese pronunciations.

(h) pokkuri 木履 【ぽっくり】 (n): "girl's lacquered wooden clogs"
(A) The ja.wikipedia.org for the page "ぽっくり下駄" says this was originally worn by town children (boys and girls), but in modern times worn by 舞妓, 半玉 [年少芸妓（芸者の見習い）], or by boys or girls (as may be the case) in
Shichi-Go-San  七五三
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shichi-Go-San
* shichi  七
* go  五
* san  三
* These three are Chinese pronunciations.

(B) Google images for "ぽっくり" (pronounced "pokkuri")
https://www.google.com/search?hl ... %82%8A&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bpcl=35466521&biw=1152&bih=831&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=7B-HULPnHeu10AGimIGoBA
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