mizutori creates modern Japanese wooden sandals (geta) designed for comfort and everyday wear.
What Is mizutori?
Episode 49
Walking with the Sound of Geta
When you walk in geta,
they create a distinct sound—
a light, rhythmic kan, kan… kotsu, kotsu…
unique to wood.
How one feels about this sound
may differ from person to person.
For me,
my impression of it
has changed greatly
over the course of my life.
When I was still a student,
I went through a period
where I wore geta to school,
hoping in some small way
to help spread mizutori.
I commuted by subway,
and during the busy hours,
as I hurried up and down the station stairs,
the sound echoed loudly through the space.
Kan, kan… kotsu, kotsu…
People passing by would suddenly pause,
glancing around
as if searching for the source of the sound,
until their eyes settled
on my feet.
In that sense, I suppose it worked.
But at the time,
I felt a little embarrassed.
I would lower my head,
trying not to be noticed.
While my classmates wore
trendy platform shoes
or high-heeled sandals,
geta stood out
as something entirely different.
Even so,
I continued to wear them—
believing it might help
people discover mizutori.
Now,
it has become a memory
I can look back on with a smile.
Over time,
geta have come to feel
like the most natural footwear for me.
Except in situations
where they are not appropriate,
I wear them almost every day.
Before I knew it,
I had spent more than half of my life
surrounded by this sound.
And somewhere along the way,
that sound
had changed into something comforting.
With each step,
the gentle rhythm
brings a quiet sense of ease.
Now,
I can often tell
from a distance
whether the sound comes
from mizutori’s geta.
Perhaps our perception of sound, too,
is something that grows
through experience.
Several years ago,
when my son was still in kindergarten,
there were times
when he would wander off
in a supermarket or out in town
if I looked away for just a moment.
But because he had worn geta
since he first began to walk,
I could find him
by following the sound of his footsteps.
The kan, kan… kotsu, kotsu…
echoing from afar
would quietly tell me
where he was.
It was then
that I realized
this sound could be helpful
in unexpected ways.
A sound that once felt
slightly embarrassing
has now become something comforting—
a sound I can return to
with a sense of ease.
Perhaps the sound of geta
is not simply something that echoes,
but something that gently adds color
to everyday scenes—
woven together
with a person’s time and memories.
With each step,
and with each sound,
we continue to gather
small moments
that become lasting memories.
