getabako

{{Short description|Japanese shoe cupboard}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}

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File:Minatoyama-onsen 湊山温泉下駄箱 C263002.jpg of Kobe, Japan]]

File:Hitane es.entryway.jpg

A {{Nihongo||下駄箱|getabako}} is a shoe cupboard in Japan, usually situated in the {{Transliteration|ja|genkan}}, an entryway or porch of the house. This is often called a cubby in the United States. In Japan, it is considered uncouth to not remove one's shoes before entering the house.[https://web.archive.org/web/20070618111801/http://www.tjf.or.jp/eng/content/japaneseculture/02kutsu.htm Removing Shoes], Japanese Culture and Daily Life, The Japan Forum. Originally, The Japan Forum Newsletter no. 8 "A Day in the Life", June 1997.{{cite web |url=http://coreyklassen.ca/2011/02/28/getabako-lets-get-some-shoes/ |title=Getabako: Let's get some shoes |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919093908/http://coreyklassen.ca/2011/02/28/getabako-lets-get-some-shoes/ |archive-date=2015-09-19 |first=Corey |last=Klassen |date=Feb 28, 2011}} Near the {{Transliteration|ja|getabako}} is a slipper rack,{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rETwAAAAIAAJ |title=Japanese social organization |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |year=1992 |isbn=0-8248-1386-3 |page=117 |editor-first=Takie Sugiyama |editor-last=Lebra}} and most people in Japan wear slippers around the house, except for rooms which have tatami flooring, as they are bad for the floor. The {{Transliteration|ja|getabako}} is usually made of wood and bamboo, and there are many sold all over the world.

The word {{Transliteration|ja|"getabako"}} is from {{Nihongo3|Japanese wooden clog|下駄|geta}} and {{Nihongo3|"box"|箱|hako}}.{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pWgWk5cJ-_gC&dq=%22geta+bako%22&pg=PA231 |first1=Junko |last1=Ito |first2=Armin |last2=Mester |publisher=MIT Press |location=Cambridge, MA |chapter=Appendix |title=Japanese Morphophonemics: Markedness and Word Structure |year=2003 |page=231 |isbn=978-0-262-59023-5 |quote=Undergoer: hako, Compound: geta-bako, Gloss: clog-box, shoe rack, chest for footwear}}

Usually there are big {{Transliteration|ja|getabako}} in schools, and each student has their own section. Sometimes, students store personal things there as well, or use them to leave love letters.{{Cite web|url=http://japanesense.wordpress.com/2012/11/11/a-glimpse-of-japanese-schools-life-part-2/|title = A Glimpse of Japanese School's Life – Part 2|date = 10 November 2012 |website=Japanesense|author=Saladin}}{{Cite news |last=Shoji |first=Kaori |date=16 August 2002 |title=You've got mail: the romance of the shoe box |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2002/08/16/language/youve-got-mail-the-romance-of-the-shoe-box/ |department=Bilingual (column) |work=The Japan Times |access-date=25 September 2019}}