noun
straw sandals
Traditional Japanese sandals woven from straw, historically worn by travelers and workers. Now mostly seen in historical contexts, festivals, or as a metaphor for a journey.
昔の旅人はわらじを履いて歩いた。
Travelers in the old days walked wearing straw sandals.
祭りでわらじを履いて神輿を担ぐ。
At the festival, they wear straw sandals and carry the portable shrine.
草履 are also traditional Japanese sandals, but typically made of cloth, leather, or vinyl with a flat sole, worn with kimono. 草鞋 are specifically woven from straw and were more common for outdoor travel.
下駄 are wooden clogs with elevated teeth, worn with yukata or kimono. Unlike 草鞋, they are not made of straw and are less suited for long-distance walking.
Compound of 藁 (wara, 'straw') and 足 (ashi, 'foot'), with sound change. The kanji 草鞋 is a jukujikun reading, where the characters are assigned to the native Japanese word based on meaning rather than phonetic correspondence.