腹巻

Since coming to Japan I have found something that I can't live without- haramaki. You may be able to deduce the word's meaning if you recall a few of the Japanese words known to us English speakers, namely: harakiri and makizushi. Think carefully now- if harakiri means stomach-cutting and makizushi is a sushi roll wrapped with seaweed, what do you get? That's right- nude sushi!

No, no, I jest. Haramaki translates as "stomach roll" or "stomach wrap", and although it may seem to mean "love handles", it doesn't (but that would be a good guess, as I've certainly acquired a pair since coming to Japan). No, haramaki is a tummy warmer. This is one of mine:

It looks a bit like a girdle but it's not meant to be as tight as one- it's soft and comfy and oh-so-warm. It sits right on the stomach, and depending on the type it may extend all the way from under the bust to the butt crease. Old fashioned ones look like giant tensor bandages but new ones come in all kinds of fabrics and colours- many with a little pocket at the belly* like the one above. The haramaki was apparently once worn by everyone, but is now mostly worn by old folks, especially older men, as well as pregnant women.

I had never really suffered from a cold stomach before, but after years of living in Japan I had outworn my Canadian clothes and started buying clothes here- clothes that were designed for people much smaller than myself. Tops were too short and skirts (forget finding pants here) made for tubular bodies tended to sit low on my waist. So sitting between these ill-fitting clothes, my belly got plenty of exposure.

Not that a chilled tummy really worried me at first. I was raised to believe that most heat escapes from your head and your feet- keep those covered up and you'll stay warm. But people think differently here. At first I was surprised to see babies in Japan with bare feet in all seasons-- I thought those babies must be terribly cold. But those same babies always have their tummies well-covered, even in the summer. It was also quite a shock to see Japanese schoolchildren walking to school in shorts and t-shirts, in the winter- their limbs fully exposed but their tops always neatly tucked in. I thought it was silly that old men wore tummy-warmers year-round-- even on the hottest summer day they didn't want to leave their bellies vulnerable to any possible draughts. And I'd laugh every night when my husband come to bed in pajamas- with the top tucked into the bottoms and the waistband up near his armpits. He wasn't going to wear something as old and dasai as haramaki, but he'd be damned if he'd let his stomach get cold. So keeping the stomach covered is as ingrained here as covering our feet and heads is back home.

I've always suffered from the cold in winter-- my Mom used to say my blood was too thin. Mostly my hands and feet got cold but now in Japan, with its uninsulated and poorly-heated homes, my whole body felt chilly- including my poor exposed stomach. Still, I resisted wearing haramaki until I saw a special on TV about how to keep your feet warm at night. They did a little experiment in which three women, using three different techniques, went to sleep while being filmed with an infrared camera to measure their body temperatures. One soaked her feet in a hot foot bath before bed, another layered on thick socks, and the other did nothing special to her feet but wore a great big pair of underwear. Huge thick wooly ones that went from her hips to above her belly button. And guess whose feet stayed the warmest? Miss Big Undies.

Not a very scientific experiment, but when they had a doctor explain it it made sense- your body's circulation system works hard to keep its internal organs warm. When your body is having trouble staying warm it will direct all its heat to the internal organs at the expense of the extremities. This is especially so for women, what with all of our extra lady parts, which explains why more women than men suffer from cold hands and feet. So the idea is that if you keep your uterus warm from the outside, you'll be helping your entire body to distribute its heat more evenly.

So I bought a giant pair of thick grandma undies and gave it a try, and lo and behold it kept me warm-- right down to my toes. Not just at night but all day too. And it made me think that maybe the haramaki worked on the same principle, so I bought one and tried it. I was hooked after the first day. It solved the problem of my cold exposed belly, it kept my feet and hands warm, and it freed me from big ugly grandma underwear. Not that a haramaki is exactly sexy, but it's slightly less unsexy than grandma undies, and maybe even a little bit cute.

So now I rely on haramaki to keep me warm, and I couldn't imagine living without them. Of course what I'd really like is a properly heated apartment, which would render haramaki, big undies, and up-to-the-armpits pajama bottoms unnecessary. But until the Japanese figure out certain advanced technological wonders like insulation, double-paned glass and central heating, I'm happy to make do with my tummy warmer.

* Presumably the pocket is there to hold kairo (those miraculous little heating pads-- what are they called, hot pockets?), but it is also handy as a place to keep a little pack of tissues during cold season. I also like to imagine old ladies keeping a pack of cigarettes or a tin of snuff in there...

Technorati tags: underwear japan stomach

Comments

[Kat & Satoshi]

great post! I gotta go and get me one!

[suzy]

what a cool post! i have been unaware of haramaki til now... where do you buy them? could be a good solution to the dreaded mid-riff gap.

[Amy]

Most people keep theirs well hidden! You can find them in the lingerie department of most department stores. Not in the cute frilly lacy section, but off to the side, near the stockings and bike shorts.
But I'm not sure if they'll be easy to find this time of year.

Also, Nissen (catalogue/online only) has a few sets of 4. Cute fleece:
http://www.nissen.co.jp/src/direct_sho/index_s.jsp?head=%2Fhead&main=%2Fc_item%2F2005fal%2Fsho_item%2F0568%2F0568_05902
And with a Snoopy print: http://www.nissen.co.jp/src/direct_sho/index_s.jsp?head=%2Fhead&main=%2Fc_item%2F2005fal%2Fsho_item%2F0568%2F0568_23201

I really like Nissen, by the way. They are cheap, have a good return policy, carry shoes big enough for my feet and the clothes (if I choose carefully) usually fit.

[David]

Awesome post! I had never heard of a haramaki until a few weeks ago, and up until now I thought they were exclusively for women. My girlfriend introduced me to them. She wears one all the time, I mean all the time (plus the heat is jacked up and a warm duvet), but they are not available in Canadian department stores. Even my hair stylist who has lived here for a long time says she can't find any. I always thought Hara was a family name in Japanese and its the one I use around my Japanese friends, its good to know they're calling me Tummy-san! The science makes perfect sense, and since I get cold easily, maybe I'll start to wear one when I find them. I'll check out that website later.

You've metioned that there is a problem with heating in Japanese homes. There are other bloggers who have expressed the same, but my girlfriend insists (in the case of another blogger) that it is simply because he lives in a cheap flat. I tend to side with you on this, a home must have a heating system. Even in Mexico, I was thrown for a loop when I learned that homes are built without heaters. It's good to have one, just in case but because of this, I'm afraid to visit Japan in the fall and winter now. Are the temps in Tokyo really as low as they are in Vancouver? Right now, we are having a nasty cold snap, but its nothing like an Ottawa winter.

[TM]

That is the most beautiful haramaki I have ever seen!! Did you make it? I've only wore something like that when I was pregant, as everyone told me I should, so I thought it was to support the baby and/or my back. I didn't realize it was for warmth and that non-pregnant people also wear them, lol! Thanks for teaching me something new, and something new to shop for!! :D

[TM]

Forgot to add that I keep reading it as "harumaki"--eggroll/springroll, and come to think of it, it is quite apt, lol! ;)

[Stasia]

I have a friend whose acupuncturist gave her similar advice - keep the middle/organs warm, because that is where one's "chi" resides, and you'll have more energy and be warmer in your extremeties. My friend told me about this, and I decided to try it, and I've been much warmer during the last two cold Wisconsin, USA, winters because of it. Though, we don't have tummy-warmers here, and I just use long underwear. :-) Maybe I should sew a fleece one!

[carlyn]

Amy;
Thanks for the info on haramaki. Now I understand why my mother always sent "tee shirts' to me all year round . She always insisted I wear them to "stay well". Thanks ....

[Amy]

David,
Perhaps your girlfriend remembers her home country with a bit of a rosy tint? I know I do sometimes. Because either your girlfriend was incredibly wealthy, lived in Hokkaido (where houses tend to be heated better) or is simply not remembering how damn cold homes are here.
I've visited plenty of homes and lived in 6 different apartments, and I've NEVER encountered a dwelling that was properly heated. The main room is usually kept warm during the day, but that's it. Leave the room and it's freezing; likewise after a night without heat waking up to a cold house is the norm. Would heated toilets, hot carpets and kotatsu be necessary in a warm house?

I think her "cheap flat" comment refers to the difference between "apaato", which are smaller wooden structures, and "manshon" which are larger and more solidly built. Manshons are more expensive and their thicker walls mean they stay warmer than apaato. But my new place is a manshon and let me tell you, it does get cold.

I think Vancouver winters are slightly colder than Tokyo winers, but I could be misremembering. Still, I think your girlfriend should appreciate the properly heated homes of Canada!

TM,
I did not make this haramaki! I don't remember where I bought it- probably the lingerie section of a lower-end department store like Seiyu. I do think the thing you wore during pregnancy was for support rather than for warmth, but as far I as I know women will start wearing a regular haramaki well before they need support, simply to keep the baby warm.

Stasia,
The chi thing is the traditional explanation, and the Japanese place a lot of importance on the stomach. I'm a bit skeptical of a lot of eastern medicine, but it's nice to see that it sometimes makes sense.

Carlyn,
Those long snug t-shirts are a popular alternative to the haramaki. I used to use them but they were never long enough for my big frame. Glad I discovered tummy warmers.

[Jamie]

In spite of having lived in Japan for 10 years or so, I never knew anything about haramaki until a couple of years ago when my sister-in-law solemnly informed me that she always wears one, pregnant or not. The garment she flashed at the onsen was not anywhere near as cute as the one you have pictured. So I said something like "good for you!" and thought, "I'll never wear one of those!". Except now, you're solving the mystery of why my husband's pajama waist is solidly around his chest, not to mention the question of why my feet are always cold. Now that I'm pregnant in Chicago in early March (which means winter for two more months unless this year is miraculous) I NEED haramaki! Even if I have to make it myself...?! I would ask my sister-in-law to send me one or two, but I'm afraid the Japanese pregnant belly is never as magnificent as what I've got!