Construction fashion
 

Er, maybe this could be considered fashion, but I've lately wondered why so many Japanese construction workers wear those super baggy pants when on the job. At least from my perspective, I always thought it best to wear fitted clothing; enough space to move around, but not enough to get any loose fabric caught on anything. But I always see Japanese workers with these giant MC Hammer-esque pants that don't seem very safe for any kind of labor job. Why do they wear these pants?

Long long ago, the father of a guy I was kind of dating ran a construction company... And I asked why wear those type of pants and the shoes with split toes.
He told me it was a safety measure. When the pants are large, you pay more attention to your legs. If the pants hit something, it gives you warning before you actually hit your leg and hurt yourself. Catching your pants on the corner of a piece of sharp steel is a lot less damaging than catching your leg on it.

The shoes are for balance - easier to hold your balance when the sole is split at the toe.

He found it kind of odd that people would consider tighter pants better as things spilled on them would hit the skin, they would offer no warning about something tool close, etc.

I guess that's an interesting perspective. I don't know though, it seems kind of counterintuitive to me. To me, it's kind of like saying "I won't wear safety gloves because it will make me more cautious with my hands." If you just pay attention to what you're doing, tighter clothing to me feels more effective than needing a warning sign. I can see wearing the tabi style shoes though.

I've heard that those buggy pants allows them to move more freely. Since they need to crouch and bend their knees all the time, it is better to have more spaces for legs in pants.

According to my 土方 friends, it was all about safety. A drill or saw will likely get caught up up the fabric before reaching the skin. Skintight pants (something I have never seen workers wear anywhere) will do little to protect against power tools.

I guess I misses this reply the first time around.

The safety glove example is the opposite of what I meant. Think of it more like this - those pants are thick work gloves. Tight pants are latex gloves. The latex gloves are going to be a lot easier to use your hands with... But which do you want to have on when you slip and the drill bumps your finger?

The "paying attention" I mentioned doesn't mean pay more attention because there is more risk. It means that you notice something before it is actually stabbing into your flesh. You notice something hitting your pants leg long before it is drawing blood. You are more aware of things *approaching*. You pay more attention going into tight spaces and give yourself more space because the "sense" that something hitting the pants leg is potentially dangerous is habit.

I don't have anything like real figures on hand, but I have been told that there are very few leg injuries in Japanese construction.