Fundoshi (褌) is a traditional Japanese loincloth worn by both men and women. It is made from a strip of fabric measuring one shaku wide (a traditional Japanese measurement equivalent to thirty-five centimeters) and two meters and forty centimeters long. The cloth is wrapped around the hips and twisted at the back to achieve the thong-like effect.
Styles and Uses
The first mention of fundoshi can be found in the classical historical work Nihongi and it has been depicted in haniwa sculptures. This garment was essential for every Japanese man, regardless of wealth or social status, until the Second World War when the popularization of elasticized underwear occurred due to American influence.
Fundoshi comes in various basic styles. The first type is loosely fitting and is created by wrapping a strip of fabric around the hips, securing it at the back with a knot, passing it between the legs, and tucking it in at the front, where it hangs like an apron.
The second type, worn by more active individuals, is more form-fitting. It consists of a strip of cloth wrapped around the hips, brought forward between the legs, and secured again at the back, without excess fabric. This style is also used for traditional standard male swimwear. In Japan during the 1960s, children learning to swim would wear this type of fundoshi to be easily pulled out of the water by the fabric at the back in case of danger.
The third style, called etchū fundoshi, is believed to have originated from an imperial province in China. It is made from a rectangular piece of fabric, with one end narrower than the other and equipped with ribbons. It is wrapped around the hips, pulled from back to front between the legs, and tucked under the front part of the waistband. The excess fabric is left free, resembling an apron. This type of fundoshi was worn by Japanese troops during combat in the Second World War and was often the only garment for soldiers in certain tropical regions.
There are other ways to wear the fundoshi, as its malleability allows for almost infinite combinations. Samurai would wear it under their armor, combined with a shitagi undershirt. Fundoshi is often worn with a hanten (a short cotton jacket) during summer festivals by men and women carrying a portable shrine (mikoshi), during Shinto rituals, or during the ritualistic Hadaka Matsuri. Fundoshi is also still used as traditional swimwear and as general traditional sportswear, such as a jockstrap. Outside of Japan, fundoshi is primarily known through the group of musicians Kodō, who regularly wear it.