Thursday, November 7, 2013

Blog#4: The comeback of a tradition- Suteteko (Minori Tango)


I chose Suteteko as a thing which has made a comeback in Japan. I chose this product because about two years ago my farther bought one in summer. I had never heard the name before, and when I first saw it, I had no idea what it was. However it looked so comfortable and stylish and it seemed to exist from a long time ago in Japan.

             

First of all, let me explain what Suteteko is. Suteteko is mainly men’s underpants resembling loose Bermuda shorts. It can be the protection against the cold, protect pants from damages, breathe well, dry quickly and absorb sweat. It first spread in the Meiji era. People used it as underwear of Kimono and Hakama. Suteteko of the early days was mainly used as inner wears or pajamas, but nowadays it came back as a dressing gown in summer.

 

 Suteteko has been used mainly by men of the old and middle age. However about from 2008, Suteteko has been produced putting an emphasis on design, and several inner makers and famous apparel brands, such as UNIQLO have entered Suteteko industry, and that helped Suteteko come back into vogue not only among men but also among women and young generations. UNIQLO has started to put special advisers in the Suteteko booth to teach customers about Suteteko who do not know about it.

 

 In my opinion, this comeback is a good thing, because as Suteteko breathes well in summer while protects against the cold in winter, I think it is very ecological.  The damage of global warming has been getting serious as the year goes by, therefore we need to use the things which have the wisdom of ancient people in order to live comfortably. I think Japan has many things which resemble Suteteko such as Sensu and so on.


 

5 comments:

  1. They look very comfortable - do you have a pair? They look to be ideal as "easy pants," especially to wear during the summer as casual room pants or as pajama bottoms. I like them!
    Ms. MacGregor

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  2. Recently, a lot of innovative fashions have been rising. Suteteko is one of them, and I'm interested in it. I also think that this comeback is good thing because people can enjoy a new type of fashion and know traditional thing of Japan at the same time. I'd like to try one.
    Minami

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  3. Hi this is Mayuko! I have one of those and really like it! There are many good traditional products which is very useful so we should re-produce and sell them as brand new product !

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  4. Hello. This is Koichi.

    Wearing sutetekos in summer is really comfortable. I wear them during every summer after they become popular. As you say, they were not well-known several years ago; however, since they started to be sold, meny people have bought them.

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  5. My father started to wear Suteteko this summer and he really like it!
    They are sold for low price and many fascinative colors.
    It is too cold to wear it so I would like to try it next summer!!

    Yuna

    Yuna

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