Popping

These are footwear worn by young girls and unmarried girls when wearing formal Japanese clothing. The bottom of the thick oval base is hollowed out, and a small bell is hung inside using a strap, with the base being tapered toward the front strap. The sides of the base are painted with colored lacquer and decorated with makie (lacquer painting), the top of the base is covered with tatami matting, and in the past, they were made with rivets to create a gorgeous look.

In the Edo period, when pleasure quarters were flourishing, they were used as footwear by kamuro (traditional Japanese ladies), and from the Meiji period onwards, they became popular as footwear for townspeople's children. The word pokkuri is said to have come from the onomatopoeic pronunciation of bokkuri, which was the generic name for wooden footwear in the olden days, or it is also said to have come from the sound of stomping on the wooden clogs, which is a distinctive feature of hollow clogs. In some regions, they are also called "ponpon geta" or "koppori."

[Takeshi Endo]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

幼女や嫁入り前の娘が、和装の晴れ着を着た際に履く履き物。楕円(だえん)形の分厚い台の底をくりぬき、その底の中に鼻緒を利用して小さな鈴を下げ、台は前緒のほうに向かって「のめり」をつける。台の側面に色漆を塗ってこれに蒔絵(まきえ)を施し、台の表には畳表をつけ、古くは鋲(びょう)打ちにしたりして華やかにつくられた。

　江戸時代、遊里の盛んなころに禿(かむろ)たちの履き物として用いられ、明治以降、もっぱら町人の子供の履き物として人気を博した。ぽっくりということばは、古くは木製の履き物の総称を木履(ぼくり)といった字音からきたものといわれたり、くりぬき下駄(げた)の特色であるその踏み鳴らす音から出たともいわれている。地方によっては「ポンポン下駄」とも「こっぽり」ともいう。

［遠藤　武］

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