What are tabi socks?

Japanese construction workers wearing "two-toe" or "big-toe" jika-tabi boots and socks while working outdoors on the street.
Today’s Japanese construction workers regularly wear tabi socks inside of jika-tabi boots on the job like these.

In Japanese, “tabi” (pronounced “tah-bee”) literally translates to “foot bag.” For the uninitiated, you might know them as “toe socks” or “ninja socks.” It’s true that ninjas wore them, but so did everyone else pre-World War II.

Today they continue to be widely worn on feet around Japan.

You can get cheaper tabi socks, though we humbly ask that you consider fundoshi.store tabi – we generally source tabi made in Japan, from organic, dark, indigo-dyed knit cotton. Made just like the original tabi, which were worn by MMA/martial artists, including ninja and samurai, but also everyone else.

The tabi here are just as good for your feet as the original socks from centuries ago. We sell tabi from companies that usually sell to tradesmen, such as construction workers. They’re among the people who often wear tabi on the job today because tabi can help you keep your balance when you’re fixing a roof, for example.

Are tabi healthier than other socks?

Yes. Podiatrists (a.k.a. foot doctors) didn’t even exist in Japan until after World War II.

“Japan had great feet before the war.”

Japan Times

Wait. Why?

When your feet are in tabi socks, you’re forced to use more of your foot than in typical, Western-style socks.

The split-toe design of the tabi gently align the bones, muscles, and tendons in your feet, and force you to distribute weight and pressure more evenly as you stand, walk, or stretch. Over time, this means that tabi will train your body’s foundation to work more symmetrically.

You have 20-plus muscles in each foot. Put them to use. A good pair of tabi help exercise those muscles, and you don’t even have to think about it. The intricate muscle system within our feet evolved over time, and now it’s where some of the toughest muscles in your body are located, but we usually don’t even consider that modern life has meant a lot of us just let those muscles sit and atrophy.

The way tabi are designed, they give your feet the subtle encouragement to widen the surface of your soles. In turn, your stance becomes more stable. Likewise, your arches move in tabi socks, which can set off a chain reaction that sprays up through your ankles, into your knees, pelvis, spine, neck, all the way up to your head.

In Eastern reflexology, it’s believed that wearing tabi improves your posture and helps relieve lower-back strain.

You want your toes to be able to feel and grasp the ground you’re walking on because it helps your balance, which means less fatigue if you’re considering walking any distance beyond the bed to the bathroom.

Why do ninjas, samurai, and some MMA fighters wear tabi?

For hundreds of years, tabi were worn by warriors in ancient Japan who were training in the art of ninjitsu (忍術), also known as ninpō (忍法). Or in English, the fighting sports known as “martial arts.”

For trainees in the art of war, the tradition of wearing tabi never stopped. This is because people who practice martial arts continue to depend on them for strong, agile feet. The strength and agility starts down at your soles, but the benefits of tabi work their way up through your whole body.

For example, judo or karate are based on the ability to consciously use every part of your body. In these martial arts, you are essentially using your own body as your weapon, so your feet, toes, ankles, calves, thighs and up must be ready for action at all times.

Who else wears tabi socks?

A person balancing wearing jika-tabi at a construction site.
Wearing jika-tabi boots with tabi socks underneath helps tradesmen keep their balance.

Just from reading this, you can probably imagine why so many athletes, distance runners, hikers and gym-users work out in gear that specifically separates their toes.

In Japan, construction workers wear tabi socks under tabi boots, because it’s just safer when you’re spending all your time walking on roofs and narrow planks of wood at construction sites.

Are tabi socks made in larger sizes for men with big feet?

Yes. We made this conversion chart for centimeters/cm (used for shoe size and measuring the feet of guys in Japan) to typical US male shoe size.

Why are there different colors of tabi?

There are two colors that are most common in traditional tabi socks: white and dark blue.

White tabi socks are considered formal, generally reserved for special occasions like weddings.

Your average person in Japan wore dark indigo-dyed tabi (we sell some here on fundoshi.store). The dye is so deep blue, they start out almost looking black. As you walk in them and wash them, they lighten up.

Dark socks were worn by most people in most situations for obvious reasons: They mask the fact that our feet naturally sweat, and the bottoms of our soles get dirty.

If you walk barefoot, inevitably the soles of your feet get dirty. This is why starting in ancient Japan, a typical pair of tabi socks came in a darker color, like dark indigo blue.

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