noun
protective cover on a clog
Refers to a leather or similar covering fitted over the toe area of a traditional Japanese wooden clog (下駄) to protect it from wear and moisture.
下駄の爪皮がすり減ってきたので、新しいものに取り替えた。
The protective cover on my clogs had worn down, so I replaced it with a new one.
職人が爪皮を丁寧に縫い付けている。
The craftsman is carefully sewing on the clog cover.
爪皮 is a part of 下駄 (wooden clogs); it is the protective leather cover on the toe area.
Compound of 爪 (つま, toe) and 皮/革 (かわ, leather/skin), literally 'toe leather'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term straightforwardly describes the leather cover fitted over the toe of a clog.