Mitsukoshi, a leading Japanese department store, claims that the fundoshi is making a comeback among Japanese men.

The fundoshi is basically a loincloth that went out of fashion long ago when Japanese men discovered boxers and briefs. Back in the old days, fundoshi were normally white but sometimes bright red. These days, however, the modern incarnation is available in tartan, paisley and geometric patterns in red, blue and other colors. You can even buy silk fundoshi.

Ranging in price from 500 yen to around 3,000 yen, Mitsukoshi’s Ginza branch sold 441 fundoshi in April and some 800 in May. Sales had been about 80 a month prior to the loincloth’s sudden revival, according to store officials.

“Women seem to be buying them for their boyfriends and friends,” said Yoshimi Shuma, manager of the men’s clothing section. “Non-Japanese customers and Japanese planning to go overseas also buy them as souvenirs.”

Many businessmen are buying fundoshi as “power underwear” to wear when they want good results at work.

A fundoshi consists of a long piece of cloth, with a cloth string along one end. You tie the two ends of the band around your waist, with the knot on your belly and the strip of cloth hanging over your buttocks. Then you reach between your legs to grab the cloth, pulling it up to the front and tucking it under the band running across your belly.