Japanese people have worn variations on woven straw sandals for over a thousand years. The simplest ones, known as warazori, slipped over the foot and were worn for daily labor. Waraji had (and still have) ties to secure the shoe around the ankle, making them better suited for pilgrimages and other long-distance travel. People sometimes offered, or presented, waraji to Buddhist temples as a prayer for strength, either to work or to complete a special pilgrimage or journey. Sometimes the sandals were normal-sized, but in some cases – like the giant 0-waraji that adorn the back side of the hozomon at Tokyo’s Senso-ji – the sandals
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