Those stinking shoes

Many moons ago, when I taught English as a foreign language in Osaka public schools, I thought uwabaki were so cute. The cloth white shoes were part of the Japanese school uniform - regardless of the school. All children wore them while they were inside school buildings because outdoor shoes are not worn inside in Japan.

But after 2 years of kindergarten and almost 1 year of grade school, my opinion has changed. Every Friday (or Saturday, if there is Saturday school), my son brings these shoes home. It is expected (by Japanese society) that the shoes will be washed and returned on Monday in pristine condition. So, every weekend I scrub those darn shoes. And every weekend I curse the person who decided that CHILDREN should wear WHITE shoes. Whomever thought this was a good idea obviously didn't have children of their own (or at least didn't do the the laundry in their household).

Of course, I have had my son wash them several times. But he is seven. While he does the best he can, it isn't the same. After a couple weeks, the shoes are once again mom's responsibility for returning to their former glory.

While I could ask my husband to do it, I'd honestly much rather he keep washing all our dishes, taking out the garbage, and keeping our bathroom scrubbed. When we divided duties, I took on the laundry and I really don't want to swap him! (Although I do have to say, he also folds all our laundry... so I'm not doing it all by myself.)

I tried tossing the shoes in the washing machine, much to the horror of any Japanese woman I have ever mentioned this to. Unfortunately, I learned my lesson quickly when the soles came off at a very rapid rate.

Uwabaki are very cheap - costing between ¥500 and ¥2,000 a pair ($4.75-$18.80 USD). But this doesn't mean I want to be replacing them all the time. I already have to buy between 2-3 pairs each year as my kid grows so quickly.

Keeping these shoes clean feels like a weird societal pressure. I especially felt this when my son was in kindergarten and all the moms (rarely a dad) would wait together to pick their kids up from school each day. It might just be in my head, but I felt it nonetheless.

I'm very thankful for my Utamaro soap! It seems to be the only thing that really gets them clean again.

So, if you wonder why I'm grumpy on Saturday morning, you can bet it is due to these stinking shoes!