noun
work tabi; split-toed heavy cloth shoes with rubber soles
Traditional Japanese work footwear with a split toe, heavy cloth upper, and rubber sole. Often worn by construction workers, gardeners, and festival participants.
職人さんは地下足袋を履いて作業している。
The craftsman works wearing work tabi.
祭りで地下足袋を履くと動きやすい。
Wearing work tabi at the festival makes it easy to move around.
Regular tabi are traditional split-toed socks, while 地下足袋 have rubber soles and are used as outdoor work shoes.
The kanji 地下 (underground) are ateji for じか (direct), referring to direct contact with the ground. 足袋 (tabi) means split-toed socks. The compound describes heavy-duty tabi worn directly on the ground.