12/24/2004

Geta (下駄) is a pair of Japanese raised wooden clogs worn with traditional Japanese garments, such as the kimono. A clog thong is attached to the base wooden board, “dai”=stand (台), that the foot is set upon, and it divides the toes of the foot between the big toe and next largest toe. The supporting pieces below the base board, “ha”=teeth (歯), are also made of wood, and there are usually two of them per pair. They are often worn with the informal yukata.

Geta are most often seen these days on the feet of sumo wrestlers. One will most likely hear them before you see them as they make a distinctive clacking noise as the wearer walks. This is sometimes mentioned as one of the sounds that older Japanese miss most in modern life. (It can also be regarded as the sound that a sumo wrestler will miss least, as only those ranked in the lowest two divisions must wear them.)

In Japan, there is a saying, “You don’t know until you have worn a geta.” This means, you can’t tell the results until the game is over.

Because wearing geta makes one look taller, the figurative meaning of wearing geta is to show something to have more amount than it actually has.

(Source: Wikipedia)