PLAIN CLOGS.
Plain clogs vary in height; they are cut out of a single piece of wood or else have the sole-piece made separately from the supports. Those for rainy weather are five or six inches high; the supports are made separately and fit into grooves on the nether side of the sole-piece, and the thongs are covered with leather. There is a toe-cap to serve as mud-guard, made of thick waterproof paper or leather and held down by two pieces of twine from its ends, which are tied behind the hind support. There is a similar kind, much shorter and without a toe-cap, which is put on in fine weather. But the favourite form with men at present is cut out of a single piece of wood; the thongs are covered with cloth or leather, preferably the latter. The rain clogs for women have their edges and nether sides often varnished black.
Matted clogs are mostly of a single piece; the two ends are rounded; the under-side of the toe-end slants downward so that the part touching the ground is a thin, angular edge, while the hind support is comparatively thick. The hole for the top-thong is enlarged on the nether side so that the knot of the thong can be enclosed in it and a metal cover tacked on it to keep the knot clean. This is a wise precaution, because the top-thong is the weakest part of the clog; if one stumbles, for instance, the thong is strained and often snaps, and it has to be renewed. The matting which is woven fine with rushes, is tacked on the sole-piece. In the clogs for women the hind support is large, being of the same form as the hind-end of the sole-piece and leaving just space enough for tying the thong ends. In those for young girls the supports touch each other with a cavity within for tying the thong ends; these clogs are painted black, brown, or red; and those for very little girls have often tiny bells in the cavity, which tinkle as their wearer toddles along. There is another variety for women, in which the hind support is mortised as in the rain clogs. The thongs are covered with leather or dark-coloured silk or hemp cloth for men, while the coverings for women are mostly of silk, cotton, or hemp cloth, the commonest being heavy woven silk, plush, velvet, and velveteen, and those for girls are usually of red or purple velvet or plush. Clogs, especially of the better kind, and thongs are sold separately, and they are fitted while the customer waits. The best clogs are made of paulownia wood and those of inferior quality are of cryptomeria and other common wood, while the supports, if made separately, are of oak for better qualities and beech for inferior ones.
MATTED CLOGS.
Sandals are made of matting or straw. Matted sandals are the lightest and easiest to wear of all footgear; but they are apt to cover the feet with dust in dry weather and to become sodden and muddy in wet weather or after rain. They are comfortable only on dry hard ground. Common sandals are lined on the sole with strands of hemp. Another variety has a thick wooden sole in lateral sections so as to allow the matting to bend freely. But the sandals of the best quality, which are at present very popular and known as “snow-sandals,” though they are unfit for walking in the snow, have soles of untanned hide with a flat piece of iron at the heels to prevent their slipping; but the feet, especially if socked, slip on the smooth matting unless the thong is held very tightly, which defect renders these sandals unsuitable for fast walking. Still another kind, also very popular, is lined with caoutchouc.
MATTED SANDALS.
Straw sandals, on the other hand, are fitted for running or long walks. The thongs, which are of straw, are tied over the toes and around the foot just over the ankle. Though these thongs are apt at first to cut the feet if unsocked, they are easy and comfortable when one gets used to them. They are worn by coolies and others whose business it is to be constantly on their feet. Unfortunately, they soon become sodden in rain or over a muddy road; but as they are very cheap, they are frequently changed in a long journey. Cast-off straw sandals are among the commonest sights on the road on a rainy day.