Why Do Ninjas Wear Toe-Shoes?

For an imaginary group of dudes, they are portrayed with an unusually consistent ensemble. I just watched The Wolverine (in which he never really fought the ninjas, so it's like, what's the fucking point) and all the ninjas have the same fucking two-toed shoes that ninjas have in every single movie/comic/whatever about ninjas.

Was there some proto-ninja film that set the standard in ninja attire? Do ninja fans have different sub-categories, ala fast-vs-slow zombie fans, where they argue over the correct number of toes their shoes should have? What do those even accomplish? Are they all secretly Quarians or something? What the shit is going on?

Well im pretty sure the consensus is that their underwear is in the same shape.

Feet grip

Umm, ninjas aren't imaginary.

I believe the split toe shoe was fairly standard footwear worn in Feudal-Era Japan. Real Ninja would have worn straw shoes.

When the samurai swings his sword at the ninja, the ninja does a kind of hand-stand and catches the blade in between the toe gap. I am an expert who doesn't lie about this kind of thing. I believe it was (the master ninja) Oda Nobunaga who first performed the maneuver in the great war of 1556, and since then it's become common knowledge that the toe gap saves lives.

Ninjas are real dude. Media has severely played them up for entertainment though.

They're called jika-tabi and they're presumably notched at the toe so the wearer could also wear geta (wooden sandals) when the situation called for it without having to remove their current footwear.

Also, they're probably hella comfortable.

Is the OP assuming that Ninjas in general don't exist, or is he referring to the fictional media version of Ninjas?

I don't know. They're gross, but not as egregious of a moral/social/fashion crime as wearing actual toe-shoes.

Digitigrade versus plantigrade.

That... seems like it would be a real explanation? Doesn't explain their ubiquity but whatever.

Ninja Assassin is the only true depiction of ninjas.

@markwahlberg:

Oh, the ubiquity? Pretty much everyone in Japan at that period in history wore that type of footwear. IT's just period-accurate.

If I ever become a ninja, I'll let you know.

i would imagine 99% of the time ninja never wore "ninja gear" cus that'd just be a big sign saying "HEY IM A NINJA". If you're sneaking into a castle you'd have an easier job wearing dark colored servant garb.

I mean ninja's were real, but they did usually just dress like poor people, cus its easier to blend in and sneak around that way.

Also, ninja's are dumb.

Feudal Japan's version of those creepy toes shoes.

I always thought that the tabi boots were to make climbing easier. Better grip with your toes and all that.