Welcome to the Nihongo Lesson feature. We strive to give you useful manga-based Japanese language tips and maybe even a glimpse into the translation process. This week’s lesson features articles of clothing. If you’ve always wanted to dress yourself in Japanese, this might just help you out!

BOUSHI (ぼうし)

BOUSHI means “hat.” Is there a more famous hat in the world of manga than Luffy’s straw hat in One Piece? Heck, is there a more durable hat? Luffy gets in all kinds of scrums and yet that hat is almost always without a scratch!

There’s a reason Luffy works so hard to protect it. It’s a precious gift he received from his father figure—Shanks. A gift Luffy promised to return someday!

KUTSU (くつ)

KUTSU means “shoes.” We have a Team Jump member who comes into the office with a new pair of shoes every day. He may have hundreds of pairs, but he doesn’t have Goku’s pair of heavy training boots!

You know Goku from Dragon Ball is serious when the shoes come off!

KUTSUSHITA (くつした)

KUTSUSHITA literally means “below the shoes.” So what’s below a shoe...? Oh, socks! Socks are pretty important in Japan because you must take your shoes off when entering a person’s house. So make sure you don’t have any holes in your socks! Are there any famous manga socks?

All I remember is that my favorite girl in I”s wore loose socks! Itsuki really knows how to rock some socks!

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