---
node: garment_tabi
type: garment
slug: tabi
title: "Tabi"
lead: "Tabi are ankle socks with the big toe separated from the rest, so that a thonged sandal can be worn over them. They fasten at the back with metal clasps rather than stretching on, which is why they fit closely enough to show the shape of the foot."
published: 2026-08-17
updated: 2026-08-17
image_file: tabi.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gyoda_Tabi_2020-11_ac_(1).jpg"
image_author: "Asturio Cantabrio"
image_license: "CC BY-SA 4.0"
---

## Overview

The split is the whole point: a geta or zōri thong passes between the first and second toes, and a normal sock cannot go under one. Tabi are cut from woven cloth with no give — cotton for everyday, silk for formal wear — so they are shaped by pattern rather than by stretch, and they close along the back of the ankle with a column of small clasps called kohaze that hook into loops. White is formal, indigo and black are ordinary, and the sole is a separate, heavier piece.

## How it is worn

You put the foot in with the clasps open, pull the back closed and hook them from the bottom up; a correctly sized pair is tight enough that the cloth does not wrinkle at the instep, which is what a formal fitting is judged on. They are worn with sandals indoors and out, and with nothing else on the foot when walking on tatami. The outdoor working version, jika-tabi, puts a rubber sole on the same split-toe shape and is still standard for scaffolders and gardeners.

## History

Split-toe footwear follows the thonged sandal, and both are older than Edo, but the clasped, closely fitted tabi is an Edo form: earlier versions tied with cords, and the kohaze arrives with the cotton trade that made the sock cheap. Cotton tabi became one of the ordinary purchases of a city household, and the trade left the specialist shops that still sell them by width. Jika-tabi were developed in the early twentieth century and are the reason the shape is familiar on building sites rather than only under kimono.