Fundoshi - Allowing Men to be Free and Comfortable

On my first trip to Japan, I had chanced upon an authentic Japanese item, the Fundoshi. I was quite interested in them and had collected some of these unusual products as gifts for my male friends. Now, you must be wondering if the “fundoshi” is some kind of a food item or a gift. Actually, it is neither a food nor a gift; it is considered a traditional undergarment for Japanese men. Use of this underwear quickly ended just after the World War II, when trunks and briefs were introduced to the Japanese fashion culture.

Bearing a simple design, the fundoshi underwear is crafted from linen material and is worn as a strip of cloth to cover the male genitals. These wrap around garments are worn from the waist. When I went back to my homeland, my friends were interested to know if I had brought any gifts for them. I took out the entire collection of fundoshi underwear and asked them to choose. John, Francis and Shawn were surprised to find these single strip undergarments. Francis was like “Oh my God!! Did you just buy these for us?” they looked at me as if it was a wrong souvenir for childhood friends.

I had strictly asked them to try these fashionable undergarments at first before they tried to comment any further. They were stuck with common queries like “how to wear them” and “are they uncomfortable” and so on and so forth. I had assured my pals that these underwears were absolutely comfortable. Sometime later, my friends had called me up to say that the fundoshi undergarment I had bought for them were simply excellent; soft and comfortable. They were really pleased to have the fundoshi.

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Frankly speaking, while shopping in Japan, I was not quite sure whether the linen undergarments would make a fashionable style statement for me. Later on, I had tried them myself and found that the fundoshi were extremely stretchable and were designed like wrap around undergarment. From thin to fat, the fundoshi can fit around the waist of any person because of their elasticity. Though, it is recommendable for fat people to buy a bigger size in case they don’t want to see their undergarment tear apart. The summer heat in Japan is unbearable; hence men often wear the fundoshi cotton underwear to keep their genital area cool. In fact it’s true!! Because whenever I feel uncomfortable I slip off my trunks and wear the fundoshi which allows my private parts to remain cool and safe.