Zaiku Japanese Shoe - Size 9.5

These Shoes are part of the Japanese Silk Collection from Ruth Emily Davey’s travels to Japan in 2016 as part of her Fellowship with The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust. She collected a piece of fabric from all the Craft organisations/Workshops she visited to commemorate her travels into a collection celebrating Japanese Traditional Craft.

The main uppers are made from suede and the quarters are made from a Wood Print - the Traditional Japanese Marquetry Technique which originated during Japan’s Edo period- by Yosegi Zaiku. The uppers have rolled edges which are fully lined in soft, sumptuous matching suede.

All our Shoes are naturally foot shaped. They are designed to be snug around your arch and wide enough to allow your toes to spread into the toe box. Our Footwear is all built to last - designed to be repairable for many years to come.

Our Shoes are made using a special leather innersole which is flexible so your feet can feel very natural - like wearing no shoes at all. We back them with a tyre tread with a very minimal 3mm heel. When your shoes need new soles, simply send them back and we give them a new lease of life.

• Size 9.5

• Toe shape - Standard

• Made from Japanese Hakone Wood Print.

• Fully lined.

• Double outsole stitched. Finished with white stitching.

• 5mm soft leather inner soles tanned in the UK - flexible so your footprint embeds into the sole over time.

• Rubber Tyre tread outer soles - replaceable when they wear down.

• Handmade matching leather laces reinforced with waxed thread.

It is said that the technique of making Hakone Yosegi Zaiku was invented by Ishikawa Nihei, a craftman in Hatajuku, Hakone, towards the end of the Edo era. As mountains in Hakone are blessed with various trees, Ishikawa took advantage of natural colours and shades of the woods to form geometric patterns. At the beginning, ran-Yosegi and tan I Yosegi moygou (pattern unit with basic designs) were mainly made. Today, as machines and means of processing have been improved, Yosegi Zaiku with a variety of elaborate patterns are produced. This traditional technique is highly original and cannot be found anywhere else in Japan.