Shitagi

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The Shitagi (下着, Shita-gi^?) (lit. "under wear") can refer to one of two things in Japanese culture:

• a type of shirt donned by Samurai when they are wearing full armour. It is the second garment to be put on, coming second only to the Fundoshi, the Japanese loincloth. There are several different types of shitagi. It should be put on as though it were a kimono, the left hand being put first into its sleeve, and then the right, the breast being then buttoned and the waist cord finally tied at the back.

• women's underwear in modern Japan. There is, somewhat surprisingly, a massive shitagi-bunka (underwear culture). It is no secret that lan-pabu ("lingerie pubs," in which women strut around in underwear) charge more than sutorippu (strip bars). Women scantily clad are more expensive than women unclad — that's how much lingerie is valued in Japan. So valued in fact, that there is a unique, lingerie-related criminal: the shitagidorobo (underwear thief). Hadage should not be mixed up with the word shitagi, as the meanings are 'lingerie' (the former) and 'underwear' (the latter).