6th Generation Owner Continues Geta-Making Tradition at 160-Year-Old Shop in Tokyo; Variety of Materials, Colors Allow Customers to Create Their Own Unique Geta

By Keito Uchiyama / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

11:19 JST, March 12, 2025

Shinagawa-juku was the first of the 53 stations on the Tokaido, a major road linking Edo and Kyoto in the Edo period (1603-1867). On Kita-Shinagawa shopping street, which still preserves the scenery of that era, there is Maruya Hakimonoten, a footwear store with a 160-year history.

Small geta wooden sandals and zori straw sandals for children hang from the storefront, and a display case is filled with geta soles and other items. Stepping into the store feels like stepping back in time.

The shelves are lined with colorful “hanao,” a strap that secures the sandals to the foot, in various patterns such as Inden leather, Ryukyu kasuri fabric and Noto jofu hemp fabric. The store has more than 1,000 types of hanao, including those that are not on the shelves. In the back of the store, Hideomi Enomoto, 38, the sixth-generation owner of the business, sits quietly attaching hanao on geta.

At Maruya, which was founded in 1865, customers choose their hanao and wooden soles, and then the store employee adjusts the hanao to the geta to fit their feet. This has been Maruya’s sales style since the company’s founding, ensuring that customers can wear their geta comfortably.

“Everyone has a different instep height and foot width. We adjust the hanao while taking a close look at each customer’s feet to determine how soft or loose they should be,” Enomoto said.

There used to be a lot of prostitutes in Shinagawa-juku, and in addition to Maruya, there were about 10 geta shops in the neighborhood selling footwear women wore daily and fashionable footwear for the men who came to see the women. As more people began to wear shoes and the number of similar businesses gradually declined, Enomoto said he thought it would be “sad to see this place disappear.” After graduating from university, he started working in the store next to his father, the fifth-generation owner.

It used to take him an hour to attach hanao to a pair of geta, but now it takes only 10 minutes. It took him 10 years to master the professional techniques. He is also enthusiastic about nurturing the next generation of craftspeople and is currently teaching two young people how to make geta. Recently, he has been actively posting information on social media, attracting customers from remote places.

When people wear geta or zori, their center of gravity shifts forward. “Geta can be suitable for people who suffer from bunions and other problems. I will teach you how to walk in geta, so let’s think together about what kind of footwear will suit your needs,” Enomoto said with a smile.

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Maruya Hakimonoten

Address: 2-3-7 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo

Access: 3-minute walk from Shimbamba Station on the Keikyu Line

Hours: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Open until 5 p.m. on national holidays. Closed on Sundays.