Akafun - Fundoshi In Red

Akafun is the specific name for red fundoshi, a popular color for swimming and many of the traditional Shinto festivals that incorporate fundoshi-wearing. Seemed like after the last post's focus on black-and-white photography of the fundoshi (much of it by famed Japanese photographer Tamotsu Yato), it might be nice to go in a more colorful direction. Enjoy!















Outside of Japan and fundoshi-wearing, there are all manner of traditions redgarding red undergarments. A popular New Years Eve custom is to wear red underwear. For many people, wearing red (or any bright color really) under their street clothes or business clothes is an added confidence boost -- no matter how staid or moral on their surface, there is a wilder, celebratory side beneath. Similarly, in Japan fundoshi are making a comeback among salarymen as "power underwear," worn on important days (big meetings, raises, performance reviews, etc.) for that extra sense of well-being or certainty.

I can attest that it works! a well-tied fundoshi also seems to improve posture. So whether your fundoshi is seen or unseen, it has the benefit of making you feel a little sexier, a little more pulled together, a little more self-reliant and bold.