Loincloths called fundoshi have been the traditional underwear for Japanese men since ancient times, and though most now wear Western-style undershorts, they still don fundoshi at such events as local street festivals and to engage in sumo.
The typically masculine Japanese idiom fundoshi wo shimete kakaru (get ready by tightening your loincloth) means the same as the English phrase "roll up your sleeves" — in other words, get ready for some hard work. But the male tradition has been broken of late as underwear makers have introduced loincloths especially for women.
One of the products, named Otome no fundoshi (Loincloth for maidens), consists of a long strip of cloth with one string in the same style as men's fundoshi. But the materials used are decorated with prints of "feminine" motifs such as flowers and red hearts.