also: とくびこん
fundoshi; loincloth
Traditional Japanese men's undergarment made from a length of cotton, worn wrapped around the waist and between the legs. Still used in festivals, sumo, and some traditional settings.
At the festival, men carry the portable shrine wearing fundoshi.
My grandfather said he used to wear a fundoshi every day.
Only with reading ふんどし / ふどし
A type of underskirt or wrap worn under a kimono; similar to a koshimaki (腰巻). This sense is restricted to the readings ふんどし and ふどし.
See also: 腰巻き
Women in the past wore a koshimaki-like underskirt under their kimono.
sumo wrestler's ornamental apron
Only with reading ふんどし / ふどし
In sumo, a decorative apron-like garment worn by wrestlers during ceremonies. This sense is restricted to the readings ふんどし and ふどし.
Sumo wrestlers wear an ornate fundoshi during the ring-entering ceremony.
traditional Japanese loincloth for men
Etchū loincloth; string loincloth; G-string
Usually written in kana; the kanji form 褌 is rare and mainly encountered in historical or specialized contexts.
Rare kanji form; learners may encounter it in older texts or sumo-related materials.
Archaic kanji form with the obsolete reading とくびこん; not used in modern Japanese.
The origin is uncertain, but the word may be related to ふみとおし (踏み通し) or similar terms referring to stepping through the cloth. The kanji 褌 is a Chinese character for loincloth, adopted for its meaning.