Where removing shoes custom come from?

the ancient egyptians always entered their homes and temples with bare foot, that was required and this was at least 4500 years ago.

You could look at it from the other perspective - rather than 'why do people take their shoes off?' what about 'why do some people keep their shoes on inside?' - what's the point of wearing shoes inside?? (cold feet? wear slippers or socks).

[i]was recently talking to someone about it and they said it was out of respect for Buddha, is this true? [/i]

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you are thinking too europeanish, many asian cultures have this thing about shoes, being indian i guess it makes more sense, but still, it doesnt seem very hard to comprehend. they are just shoes afterall.

i dont really have an answer to why they remove shoes but i would like to mention something. If you have carpet floors and you take your shoes off the oils from you feet rub off on the carpet and then capture dirt from the air, dust mites, food, and other pollutants from the air and even pets. At my apartment complex some people who remove their shoes have darkened areas and usually have to pay to have the carpet cleaned when they move or even replaced. Also the apartment smells like dirty feet. People who tend to wear their shoes more have better smelling appartments and the carpet looks nicer. This is my personal observations based of f of what i've seen.

The Japanese custom of removing one's shoes before entering a home is rooted in superstition. The Japanese thought evil spirits lived in the ground. Walking outside enabled these spirits to adhere to the bottom of shoes, and they did not want evil sprits brought into the home. It's the same for hanging wind chimes by the front door, to ward away evil spirits.

well i live in London and always have but am of African heritage and my family (including me) will always take off our shoes before entering someone's house just because it polite and better than trotting around someone's house with shoes you had on outside.Also when i went to a part of Africa it was a very common think to do. basically I'm just trying to say it ain't only Asia who do this.

There are a large varity of factors.

The number factor and practicality is of maintainance and cleanliness. If you have tatami mats or carpets, you don't want shoes from outside walking all over it now do you?

My house has light colored carpet, I don't want it messed up with dirt, grime etc that collects under shoes when one walks around from the outside.

I was born in Southern Europe and we always removed our shoes inside, even when the floors were solid tiles. we always used slippers inside. this is definitely not a new custom as my great grand parents, born in the 1870s (they lived to 100)taught the rest of the family what they likely learned from their parents. I attended a couple of schools that had old wood floors in the classrooms. in winter we left our shoes in the tiled hallway and wore slippers in the classrooms.

In Japan, the space between things is important. At the abstract level, the unpainted areas of an ink painting. In literature, the silence between words. The formal word for this is Ma.

It is Chinese in origin, but much more potent in Japan.

So, the genkan (vestibule) of a home is very important, whether it is a grand house or an apartment. You leave the outside world behind the door, pause, remove the shoes that have connected you to the ground, and step up into the interior, subtly cleansed.

Remember also that Japan has a high rainfall, and for many centuries to walk outside certainly included walking on clay, soil, mud. Hence the raised geta clogs.

Not having the unclean encumbrance of foootwear is a new beginning. And the softeness of tatami underfoot is the sensory reward. Once you have walked on tatami in socks or barefoot you would never consider doing so in shoes.

Inside the home there are mini versions of the transition, when you step into the toilet, bath or garden.

Understanding the ritual logic of separations is important in understanding Japan. Shoes on/off is reflexive, sort of like crossing oneself used to be in Catholic societies.

Mufflon,

I'm European and me, my family and my friends always take off shoes when visiting each other's homes.

Great, but do the people you visit appreciate that? I'm European (British), and I would have been rather taken aback if someone had taken off their shoes without being asked when visiting. In my mind, it is like making yourself at home in someone else's house. Do you sit down and turn on their TV or fix yourself a snack in their kitchen? ;-)

I remember my Japanese friends in the UK always insisted that everyone remove their shoes inside, which I always found quaint but mildy irritating. They had real problems trying to get plumbers and other workmen to do the same, though, and apparently had to give up on a couple of occasions.

I've never been in a home where shoes where wanted on in the house, in either asian or american homes

so idk what kind of people you know!!

Years ago, I was invited to a dinner; and as I arrived, I was asked to remove my shoes. I was somewhat annoyed because I was not exactly dressed for bare feet; and it was winter. Recently, again, my husband and I went to visit a friend I have known from one of our overseas assignments; and she asked us to remove out shoes this time as well, though she never asked us to remove our shoes overseas. Noblesse oblige, I removed my shoes, reluctantly, but I did. More recently still, this same friend called and asked us to come to a get together in her house. As we arrived, she waived for us to go to the backyard. On the way to her house, knowing that there would be many people, I couldn�ft help but wonder what she was going to do with the shoe-removing policy. To make a long story short, everyone entering the house at the back door had to pile his/her shoes on the doorstep before entering.
I am Asian, but my paternal grandfather was a French colonial governor in Indochina, and I was raised in a strict French environment; and we did not observe the shoe-removal policy discussed previously. We only removed our shoes at the Buddhist temple. Being asked to remove my shoes makes me dwell on why my Asian family never applied this rule. The answer is simple; my mother always told us that our �grules�h do not apply to guests. I also presume that it would be hard since the family often entertained Ambassadors from various countries, and Lao and other Dignitaries; and I cannot picture my parents asking those people to remove their shoes. That simply was not done. With that said, I now carry my own slippers to a home where I know I may have to remove my shoes, as I hate walking in bare feet. Still, I do not know where this custom came from; but I can see the logic of it if you live in a rural society with animals and dirt all around. On the other hand, I can�ft see the logic in our modern world, unless you are coming in tracking snow or mud. In that case, removing shoes is natural in any society... My final note is that we are not just discussing removing shoes after all. What would one do when entering a house where the custom is to walk naked in the residence? Should you start removing your clothes when the host asks you to; or perhaps just look for a new friend to visit?

You could look at it from the other perspective - rather than 'why do people take their shoes off?' what about 'why do some people keep their shoes on inside?' - what's the point of wearing shoes inside?? (cold feet? wear slippers or socks).

Well some of us got flat foot so we wear shoes to reduce the injury toward our knees and feet. But I never liked to wear shoes inside and if need I will wear slippers. I wonder what some people do if they have problems where they need shoes to support themselves would they still be forced to remove them?
I am American, and I ask you fellow Americans how do you ask people to remove the shoes before they enter my house without sound rude or silly?

I am the one who originally posted this question and I just wanted to mention that I did not actually want to know why people take their shoes off as opposed to leaving them on. We always take our shoes off at our house (and we are Americans, I might add) but I do not ask anyone else to do so. Sometimes visiting friends and relatives will feel obligated to remove their shoes when they see us doing so but I always tell them it is not necessary - that we are just a bunch of country people. Sometimes they laugh and say they like the idea and want to do it too, others say, "Oh, ok - are you sure?" When I assure them they do not need to remove their shoes, they don't and I'd rather they didn't since they would obviously have been uncomfortable to do so. Anyway - my question is not whether it should be done or not. My question was whether there was some meaning attached to the custom or not. I was told it was originally a matter of respect toward Buddha - I was wondering if that was the reason or if their was some other meaning behind it (other than cleanliness, etc.) - that's all. Thanks.

I kind of think its very rude to enter someones house with shoes on.

At least, show intention of taking them off, and if they insist to keep it on, then do so.

The same reason you take of shoe's in Temples, its out of respect, and cleanliness.

:)

Nobody seems to have mentioned that the custom of sitting on the floor makes it far more necessary to take your shoes off when coming inside. If the only part of your body that ever touches the floor is your feet then it doesn't matter quite so much if you have walked on the floor in shoes. Any culture (e.g. India as well) where there is a tradition of sitting on the floor also usually has the tradition of taking off their shoes at the door.

Traditionally European people never sat on the floor- it was considered undignified, and taking off your shoes would have been undignified too.

In New Zealand many people take their shoes off when they enter the family home, but not usually when they go to visit someone's house.

A few people ask visitors to take off their shoes and if it's raining we might, but asking people to take off their shoes, especially older people, is like asking them to undress- a bit awkward.

My grandparents are elderly and often spend the entire day at home, but even so get up, get dressed... and put their shoes on. My grandmother would feel very undignified without her shoes on I'm sure.

I live in a boarding house where we have quite a few Bangladeshis. They all insist on removing their shoes and socks leaving smelly piles along our corridors and hallways. Shouldn't they leave them OUTSIDE THE HOUSE rather than inside?
It seems that although they don't wish to face the sight of dirty shoes and socks, it's OK for the rest of us to be offended by their stench.

According to the common Japanese customs, you put off your shoes in the entrance area of the house, which is usually located inside the house. But socks are kept on.

I am from England, and I always take my shoes off when entering someones house, unless I am asked not to.

If someone walks into my house and doesn't take off their shoes without me saying it is ok for them to wear them, I find it quite rude.

Outside shoes are for outside. Indoor shoes are for indoors. You don't wear your dressing gown out on a cold day, and your ski jacket inside if you are chilly, so I see this as no different!

That, and its a cleanliness issue. I wouldn't want all the germs, dirt and dust from my shoes all over my floors and carpet.

And to whoever was saying about oils from your feet getting onto your carpet and causing carpets to smell... what rubbish. Perhaps you need to just wash your feet more, or wear slippers. If you honestly believe that your bare feet are less hygenic than the soles of your outdoor shoes, then I pity your poor, neglected feet!


I do not know whether this originally started as a hygiene, religious, superstitious or cultural thing... but I do know that it makes sense, and I hope it is not a tradition that dies out!