I was just looking over the last couple articles I posted and realized my secret is out — when given a color choice, I choose red.
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Here’s my Saucony Jazz Originals, Dell Mini-9 Laptop, and Samsung mobile phone, and don’t forget the site’s theme and logo, and the Japanese flag.
I added a Red category so you can more easily follow my fancy.
Megumi Matsuriya is an online geta shop that recently started appearing in searches. They have an attractive site, good prices, great geta, and good service in English.
Unfortunately, like most geta shops in Japan, they have a very limited selection of sizes. The size chart on their site shows conversions for up to 30 cm geta, but they don’t seem to have anything over about 26 cm, size L.
When you decide what you want and click “Purchase,” nothing seems to happen, certainly you are not asked for your credit card number or shipping address. Instead, within a day or two, you will receive a PayPal invoice with instructions to pay though PayPal.
Once you pay at PayPal, you’ll receive a shipping notice and your geta will arrive in a couple weeks.
Shipping to the United States (as of May 2009) is $10.80 per pair for SAL which is shipped air but on a space available basis, takes 2-3 weeks and has no tracking. The other choice is EMS for $20 per pair, it takes about a week and gives you a tracking number.
Personally, I’ve never had a problem using the cheaper SAL service.
The geta are paulownia wood so are lightweight, comfortable, and will wear well.
This pair of shoes is from China, not Japan.
The Chinese used to bind young girls’ feet tightly with cloth strips so their feet would remain small. These small feet, known as lily feet, were sometimes as small as 3 inches long and men considered them very erotic. In your webmaster’s opinion these are feet that were very deformed, and far from attractive.
The women wore tiny intricately embroidered shoes.
When the Qing dynasty came to power in the Manchu district they outlawed foot binding. The women believed that unless their feet were small, they’d never be married. They found that by wearing regular shoes raised on a single central support, their feet looked small, and they were forced to walk with a gait similar to that of a bound foot woman.
Depending on local dialect and the shape of the shoe base, they were called pedestal, flower-pot, or horse hoof shoes.
The pair shown here are a modern reproduction and were purchased from StylishCN.com, click accessories to find them. The company doesn’t seem to stock the shoes, but they’ll make up a pair in your size, color, and embroidery preference. They are accomodating and responsive by email in good English.
The shoes shown came with blue pom-pom like tassels on the toes, but they were removed by the owner. They are reported to be a little easier to walk on than Tengu Geta, mostly because they’re lower but also because the ground contact area is large enough to be stable. These shoes are about 3 inches high, took about 5 weeks from order to delivery, and cost about $70. Like geta, there is no right and left distinction, either shoe fits either foot, though in time they tend to stretch and acquire a left-right symmetry.
StylishCN also has Chinese men’s opera boots, expect to see a pair reviewed in the coming month.
Problem: you want to get geta but are afraid to use a credit card online or don’t even have one.
I teach how to buy and sell on eBay at a local night school. One problem that comes up occasionally is I have a student who does not want to use their credit card online. I suggest they call their credit card company and ask them what are the risks.
US law limits your liability for unauthorized use to $50 and many credit cards don’t even charge you that. I’ve been shopping online since 1995 and have not had a problem to date, and I’ve probably made over 500 purchases.
The rules for debit cards are different, please check with your bank for the details.
Ah, but what if you don’t have a credit card at all?
Here’s a few ideas:
User Carpespasm at Instructables.com has posted a nice illustrated “how to,” on making a pair of geta. For dimensions, they suggest using japanesegeta.com’s own geta dimension calculator.
My only suggestion is to string the main strap through a small loop between the toes. I’ll post a photo soon.
Make Your Own Geta Sandles - More DIY How To Projects
Sorry for the long absence…
This well produced video was made at the Gujo Odori dance festival in Gujo Hachiman city in Gifu Prefecture. Starting at about 2:00 you can watch the straps being attached to a pair of geta. I’ve seen it done a dozen times, and I still can’t tie the knots correctly.
Thanks to Adeyto for permission to feature this video!