Taking off hats and gloves before entering a Japanese home?

Hi everyone,

Today I was reading an passage about etiquette when visiting someone’s home in Japan, and one small detail caught my attention: it mentioned that guests should remove their hat and gloves upon entering.

Why the hat and gloves? Is there a specific cultural or historical reason for it?

I’m really sorry if this sounds like a dumb question, I’ve never been in this situation myself, and I don’t have any Japanese friends who’ve explained this to me. I just want to understand the why, not just the what.