The 3/11 earthquake and tsunami have seriously damaged not only the Fukushima nuclear power plant but also other power plants. Because of this, people living in eastern Japan have been required to save electricity as much as possible. As summer is when power demand soars approaches, the issue of how to save electricity during summer is being discussed seriously. Given that a lot of people suffered from heat stroke even at home last summer because it was much hotter than usual throughout Japan, many of us are taking the issue very seriously and thinking about how to deal with heat. On top of that, to avoid massive blackouts caused by the demand overwhelming the supply, both corporations and individuals in Japan are required to make further efforts to find new ways to deal with heat without relying on air conditioners as much as they used to.It's been said that we need to change our both life and business styles dramatically.
Under these circumstances, things that became unpopular are drawing attention and coming back to thecenter stage. One of them is the traditional summer underwear "suteteko/ ステテコ" (The right picture). In the Meiji era (from 1868 to 1912), suteteko became popular as stuff to wear under the traditional Japanese garment/clothes "Kimono/着物". As Western clothes became popular, men came to wear sutetekos over underpants and under trousers. Sutetekos are made from breathable and absorbable fabric to adjust to hot and humid summer in Japan. They don't stick tightly to the skin. Because of this, at the time when air conditioning wasn't popular, I guess that many men felt comfortable wearing trousers over sutetekos than without them. On top of that, it was thought that wearing sutetekos helped to protect business pants from getting dirty. It also helped sutetekos gain popularity.
Until two or three decades ago, during summer, there were a lot of men at home who relaxed in sutetekos and another kind of underwear which is worn under shirts and looks like a white t-shirt (Link #1). When ordinary families didn't have air conditioning, this style might have been the best way for men to beat the heat. However, as Japan became affluent, people, especially women, became less fond of the style. In the wake of it, wearing sutetekos in itself came to be considered to be unfashionable by younger generations regardless of gender. On top of that, thanks to the widespread use of air conditioning, sutetekos became less useful to men. Due to these reasons, Suteteko was forced to step back from center stage.
This year, however, the shortage of electricity is bringing Suteteko back to center stage. To attract younger generations, fashionable sutetekos are going on sale (Link #2). On top of that, many shops are offering sutetekos for women. I think that they have been drawing considerable attention.
Link #1: Men relaxed in Sutetekos at home
Please see the picture in the link below.
Please see the third picture in the link below.
Link#2 Fashionable sutetekos
