靴の記念日（kutsu no kinenbi）： Anniversary of Shoes

They say March 15 is Kutsu no kinenbi(靴の記念日), Anniversary of Shoes. It was established by Nihon Kutsu Renmei(日本靴連盟), Japan Shoes Federation in 1932 to commemorate the opening of the first shoe factory in Tokyo on March 15, 1870. The factory was made by Katsuzo Nishimura(西村勝三) who was 35 years old at that time. Before that Japan imported the military boots from foreign countries, but it cost a lot and foreign boots were too big for Japanese people. Therefore he decided to make boots in Japan.

Before Japan opened its door to foreign countries in the middle of 19th century, we have worn kimono (着物) as a daily costume. When we wear kimono, we wear either zori (草履) or geta (下駄), wooden clogs for footwear. When we wear zori, we put on socks called tabi (足袋). Geta is usually worn by bare feet.