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The fundoshi (褌) is a traditional Japanese male loincloth, made from a strip of cotton cloth, 14 inches wide and about 92 to 96 inches long, which is twisted to create a thong effect at the back.
Uses
The samurai (military elite) wore it as underwear with armor, combined with a shitagi shirt. Fundoshi are often worn with hanten (a short cotton jacket with straight sleeves) during summer festivals by men who carry mikoshi (portable shrines) in Shinto processions.
Outside Japan it is perhaps best known from the spectacular giant drum Kodo (taiko group) appearing dressed in nothing else then a white fundoshi and a head band, arduously drumming themselves into honest sweat, as members of Japan's lower classes did in various professions, especially in open air. Fundoshi are still used as traditional swimsuits. In some high schools, boys do the long-distance sea swim with the fundoshi. The present Crown Prince of Japan also swam with fundoshi in his childhood. In the pools and beaches of Japan, fundoshi swimmers can still be seen.
External links
- How to tie a Fundoshi
- An Internet Archive copy of Fundoshi- Japanese Loincloth about the types of fundoshi
- A scholarly article on the wearing of loincloth and fundoshi includes social and cultural connotations, modesty issues, etc.
"Fundoshi"