Hand-twisted fabric around rope, the waraji is an indoor slipper for wearing around the house. Traditionally waraji were woven from recycled scraps of fabric. “In Japan a lot of people make them from old kimono, but since we are here
Hand-twisted fabric around rope, the waraji is an indoor slipper for wearing around the house.
Traditionally waraji were woven from recycled scraps of fabric. “In Japan a lot of people make them from old kimono, but since we are here we have to buy fabric,” said Tomeko Malone, one of the three Japanese women making waraji by hand here on Kaua‘i to sell at craft fairs.
“This was Nozomi’s idea,” she said, pointing to the woman standing shyly beside her near a table filled with slippers. “They’re real popular in Japan. They take old summer kimono and use for waraji instead of throw away.”
Malone and her friends have been preparing for months for the holiday craft fair season that began in earnest on Kaua‘i this month. Rather then use discards for their slippers though, they purchase the fabric. “We thought about using our old clothes but we think nobody would want to wear a slipper made of used clothing.”
One pair of slippers takes two and a half yards of fabric and a few hours to make. “Nozomi and Harumi do the cutting and I put the slipper together.”
While there are those who still make the slipper by tying the material and chord to their big toe, Malone said, “It’s too hard to do. I tried but my toe hurt too much and my slippers weren’t wide enough.” Then pointing to one of her companions behind the craft table she said, “Her husband made a little triangle of wood.”
The friend she is referring to is Harumi Asai. And it was Nozomi Nishiguchi who taught her friends how to make waraji.
The challenge of making shoes by hand is getting each one to match perfectly. The wooden structure that Asai’s husband made for each of the women helps for consistency and speed.
One of the hurdles facing the women is product availability. The cord that is wrapped in fabric is not available for purchase in Hawai‘i. “Nozomi goes back to Japan a couple times a year and she brings back the cord,” Malone said.
“Waraji is always made by hand,” she went on to say. “The original one was made from rice straw. The rice part they eat and from the long, long stem they make the waraji.”
The waraji Malone and her friends make differ from the ancient slipper not only in material but also style. The waraji of ancient Japan was worn with laces that wound up and around the ankle.
“It’s a fad in Japan right now,” said Malone, who speaks on behalf of her creative compatriots. “Harumi and Nozomi are married to Japanese men and only speak Japanese in the home,” she said.
Malone has lived on Kaua‘i for years, but only just started making the slippers for craft fairs this year. “The ancient slipper used to be made of straw,” said Malone. “You see them in the old samurai movies. They all wear them.”
The slippers are still handmade in Japan and most are still woven from recycled scraps of fabric.
Malone confessed she takes a half day to make a pair. “People who are good can do it in a couple of hours,” she said.
