Clogs - Ashida

In modern times, it refers to geta with high teeth, but in the past, it was a general term for geta. It is said that "ashida" comes from the phonetic pronunciation of "ashishita" (under the foot) or "ashiita" (footboard). In the past, the word "geki" was used and read as "ashida." In the Heian period, these were footwear worn by warrior monks and ordinary people, and in China, they were also worn by immortals. These footwear became common during the Muromachi period, and a picture of how geta were made can be seen in the "Seventy-one Artisans Utaawase Emaki." The original form was either a high-toothed robo-geta with ginkgo teeth set into an oval cedar base, or a flat-toothed robo-geta with low teeth. The navel of the tooth of the robo-geta protrudes above the base. This style remained as a local cultural heritage until the end of the Edo period. In Edo, geta with high inset teeth were called takageta, and those with low inset teeth were called renshigeta, while in Osaka the name ashida fell out of use and both inset teeth and those with multiple inset teeth came to be called geta. Nowadays, ashida are called amegeta (ame geta) because they are worn when it rains, and those with low inset teeth are called hiyori geta (hiyori geta), but originally in the late Edo period they were worn by common people during the day. Modern Western clothing has brought about a major change in footwear, and we are now in the age of shoes.

[Takeshi Endo]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

現代では差し歯下駄(げた)の歯の高いものをいうが、古くは下駄の総称。「足駄」は足下(あしした)あるいは足板(あしいた)の音便(おんびん)から出たとされている。かつては屐(げき)という語をあてて、これを「あしだ」と読んでいた。これは、平安時代には僧兵や民間の履き物であったし、中国では仙人の履き物ともされた。この履き物は室町時代になると一般化し、『七十一番職人歌合(うたあわせ)絵巻』のなかには、足駄つくりの絵がみられる。当初の形は、長円形の杉材の台に銀杏(いちょう)歯を差し込んだ露卯(ろぼう)下駄の高(たか)足駄か、歯の低い平(ひら)足駄であった。露卯下駄は歯の臍(ほぞ)（へそ）が台の上に出たものである。この形をしたものは、江戸末期まで地方文化の遺産として残った。江戸末期になると、江戸では差し歯の高い下駄を高下駄、歯の低いものと連歯(れんし)下駄を下駄といい、大坂では足駄の名前は廃れて、差し歯も連歯のものもすべて下駄というようになった。最近は、足駄は雨のときに履くので雨下駄といい、歯の低い差し歯物を日和(ひより)下駄といっているが、元来は江戸末期のころ、日中に履く庶民のものであった。現代洋装生活では履き物にも大変革が起こり、靴の時代になっている。

［遠藤　武］

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