takashi

A well written english language article on what is left of artisanal indigo-dying and garment-making in Sumida-ku area of Tokyo. Please read for your pleasure.

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http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fv20090830kn.html

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ah, sorry to both of you --- I am not takashi from e-workers... common name here..!

(my kanji is like this: 敬)

"mimi" (also read as "ji") usually means "ear" but in some cases---such as this one---can mean "edge", so in this context means the fabric is selvage.

And, as Mr Snake correctly says, "Sutoraipushanbure", is a romanized rendering of the katakana version of "striped chambray".

I cannot say much about Japanese identity (no-one talks about American identity in such terms whenever some people in US appropriate something from somewhere else, which is all the time and throughout their whole history).

However, the irony of "the jeans that made America" being the brainchild of a European Jew was not lost on the early makers of repro jeans (who after all were only trying to fill the gap created when American makers abandoned their own traditional methods). Studio D'artisan for example, chose the pig for their mascot because they were trying to create something similar but at the same time quite different to the jeans of Mr Levi-Strauss. Because they knew that Jewish peoples don't eat pigs (indeed it says in the Torah that one should not touch the carcass of a swine), they made the pig as their symbol. It's a kind of postmodern joke I should hasten to add, and nothing against Jews. Mr Nakai from Osaka shop can tell you the whole story if you are interested; he is usually there thursdays through saturdays.

just got my lee 101b 1942, and a new lee 101j 1946 jacket.

the WWII jeans are really nice.

i wonder if anyone here knows if there is a difference between the lee 101j from edwin and the ones from real mc coys (exept the price ).

Lee (that is, VF Corp, which owns the Lee and Wrangler brands), has three Japanese licensees --- i.e. companies which have paid for the privilege of making and marketing exact replicas of Lee denimwear in Japan and can put the label 'Lee' and other marks on them --- these are Edwin, Warehouse, and Real McCoy. They obviously look almost identical to each other, but each uses their own denim for the purpose. Samurai, Denime, Evisu, amongst others, do "Lee repro" or "Wrangler Repro" style denim but cannot use the "Lazy S" or the "W" trademarks.

Just to add to your information:

To avoid disappointment, note the the Studio d'Artisan shop is closed Wednesdays as well as Sundays.

The 45rpm shop in Osaka is not very good -- hardly anything in it! The main shop in Tokyo is much better.

The Fullcount shop has moved (building they were in was torn down), they still have another shop in American Village, though.

thanks for the correction, takashi-san - is there a reason why the main indigo crops are located across the strait in tokushima, and not right alongside the milling and dyeing processes in okayama?

It’s a good question Mr tweedles, but there is simply not enough agricultural land in Okayama, which, except for a narrow coastal strip, is quite a hilly prefecture. Most of Shikoku is hilly too, but there is a broad plain around Tokushima which supports an extensive amount of agriculture. Before Japan was opened up to the West in 1868, indigo was one of the most important crops in this area. After that, the production of indigo declined, for several reasons --- first, it became possible to import indigo (from India, courtesy of the British), thereby freeing up the land for the more important production of rice; second, in 1897 the German company BASF discovered how to produce indigo synthetically; and third, in the new liberal atmosphere of the Meiji period, colors other than blue became fashionable for the working classes (up until then, blue was the color of the clothing which common people wore, because indigo was the cheapest kind of dye available, and also in some areas there were actually laws forbidding them from wearing other colors, which were reserved for the aristocrats).

The "small island off the coast of Japan" you mention is actually Shikoku (四国), one of the four main islands which comprise Japan (the others are Honshu, Kyushu, and Hokkaido). It is a huge island with a large population, railways, airports, etc, etc. Natural indigo was traditionally harvested in Tokushima prefecture, in the northeast region, and today it remains the biggest source of the crop. It is no accident that this area is just across the the strait from Okayama prefecture, home of traditional fabric production and dying, and where many jeans manufacturers are today located.

Learn a little bit about Japan..!

Best Regards,

Takashi

The Dry Bones brand is heavily influenced by ancient Japanese culture. Which is why their denim is called Sushi Ear.

The selvedge lines are two different colors, one pink line representing ginger, one purple line representing shoyu. The front pocket bags and rear pocket linings are made of dark green canvas to represent green tea. The eggplants on the patch represents the spring harvest in Japan.

Actually, the three things depicted on the Dry Bones patch --- Mt Fuji emerging from clouds, two hawks, and three eggplants --- are associated with the so-called "hatsuyume" (初夢) : the first dream dreamt in the New Year. Every Japanese schoolchild knows the rhyme "ichi fuji, ni taka, san nasubi". (一富士、二鷹、三茄子 - 1. Mt Fuji, 2. Hawk, 3. Eggplant). It's said that to dream of any of these things in your first dream of the year is especially auspicious.

You're right about 'sushi ear', but I would note that eating sushi (as we now know it) is not a particularly ancient aspect of Japanese culture. Topping vinegared rice with fish dates from the late Edo period -- it was invented in the Tokyo area probably in the period of 1800-1858.

Here's a beauty: a "middle period" (1940's/1950's) 43200G:

you might want to add

http://shop.yumetenpo.jp/goods/d/pants-shop-avenue.com/g/WrM1948SP/index.shtml#

mmm... the McHill lot number (555) indicates this is possibly a Joe McCoy 906 repro (which itself was a Levis 1955 repro -- can we talk about repros of repros...?).

The holy grail of Joe McCoys craftsmanship was of course the 901XH (extra-heavy) 1941 model. By way of comparison, in 2001 the 906 retailed for 18,000 yen (their least expensive denim) and the 901XH for 28,000 yen.

As memory serves, the Joe McCoy 900 was a Levis 1871 repro (one back pocket, buckle-back); the regular 901 (not the 'A') was a WWII model (no coin-pocket rivets, black fly buttons); the 915 was a Lee Riders repro. These all retailed for something like 22,000 back in the days. The 907 I don't remember, but I do remember they made some half-selvage 1961 "West Side Story" coloured denim (red, grey, etc), which were pretty cool.

But I don't know how closely McHill (or Toys McCoy) will adhere to these conventions.

Why not use (black line) denim?

This is in fact the Black Label 105 denim. It has an orange selvege line (i.e. the colour of the thread...) Not to be confused with the Yen Orange Label (i.e. Italian) denim.

I happened to be in the Real McCoy shop in Osaka this summer and tried on some of the line. I liked the S613 'cowboy' jean the best for fit and indigo colour. But sadly, if you're much over 185cm in height I believe you may find the leg length a touch short, as I did.

I didn't see any of the McHill line there, but they sound interesting if they are intended to be a revival of the now-legendary Joe McCoys. As far as I'm aware, only zk's shop (Faith, in Taipei) purports to carry any Joe McCoys --- I tried to find his place last time I was there but failed...(had an excellent meal in the nearby nightmarket, though).

Which model are these? :confused:

Collab with Unique Jeans Store, in Sapporo. (Note the map of Hokkaido on the flasher.)

Note also the treatment given to the Wrangler-type repro collab with the same shop:

Triple-stiched yoke, white 'S' type accurate, "Unique" on the leather patch. Also a crotch-rivet in front. On the whole I prefer the SO210XJ, but interesting nevertheless.

isnt there a samurai flagship store IN osaka?

I don't think Samurai has a flagship store (or for that matter any store of its own, unlike Full Count, Denime, Real McCoy, Warehouse, Dry Bones, Evisu, etc). At least I've never seen one, and their website does't list one.

The main address on their website is in Hirano-ku, in the southeast part of Osaka -- it's quite far from the central shopping areas and I imagine must be their corporate address.

I like Kapital.

I strongly suggest that anyone considering buying the Zipangs to try them on first. The sizing is strange. Very small waist compared to the tagged size and wider legs than you may expect.

I like them too, ring. I didn't find the sizing or the cut of the Zipangs strange, however. Maybe they've changed since you tried them.

Note that the "TH straight" model is exactly the same cut as the Zipang, the only difference being the indigo (and consequently the price..). I was vascillating between one and the other when the shop assistant (Naoki) said 'do you have some time?' When I said yes, he told me they had a 1-year old sample of each in another Kapital shop nearby. We walked over -- they both looked good, but the Zipangs had faded to that characteristic 'aqua blue' that natural indigo so often does (don't ask me why... I know all the arguments which say it shouldn't matter), with much less pronounced whiskering and honeycombing. Some people like it, some people don't. In the end, I chose the TH Straight, not to save money, but because I genuinely preferred the way they faded.

The TH Straight is also in theory available in non-wash (unlike the Zipangs which only come one-wash) but they didn't have any raw ones in stock (Naoki very kindly rang around to check), so I just got a 32 one-wash.

In Tokyo, I found the best place to see and try all the different Kapital jeans is at the "Kapital Legs" shop in Ebisu. It just specialises in trousers (pants to you Americans...), hence the name, and they have worn samples of most of their line.

Would recommend getting the Lightning mag vol 19 "Best of Osaka"

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%30d9%30b9%30c8%30fb%30aa%30d6%30fb%5927%962a/dp/4777903648/sr=1-6/qid=1157578319/ref=sr_1_6/503-3876985-9163965?ie=UTF8&s=books

It has everything including maps, etc. I assume you can read and speak a bit of Japanese (or will do shortly) if you hope to get the best out the Kansai region, where English is much less widely spoken than in Tokyo. Enjoy the food!

You might also try the Samurai SO110XJ. However, these are not sanforized like the Evisu No. 2 and Lee 101Z, so size up from your normal No. 2 Evisu size.

Well, these are not exactly 'high end' (in fact no jeans they make sell for more than about $40):

http://www.pointerbrand.com/

I noticed them when I was down in Memphis a few months back. They are completely American-made in a factory in Bristol, Tennessee (photographs on their website):

http://www.pointerbrand.com/AmericanMadePride.asp

Of interest are the carpenters' jeans, particularly the striped ones in broken twill.

This is the type of modern-era shuttle loom that most Japanese selvege denim is (and has been) produced on:

This one is owned by the Okamoto Textile Company, located down in Ibaraichi in Okayama prefecture --- typical of the smaller textile companies catering to independent jeans makers (total number of employees: 10 ! ). They do their own rope-dying and have several shuttle looms to accommodate the small runs required by their customers. The total annual turnover of the company is less than USD 4million

If someone can show me a similar photo of an ex-Cone Mills shuttle loom in action in Japan I'll maybe believe story that most/some/all (choose which) Cone Mills looms were bought by the Japanese.

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I dropped by Blue In Green this afternoon. Their stock of jeans (both raw and distressed) has really expanded... several Samurai models now, including a zipper-fly model. They now also stock Warehouse duckdiggers, including some very cool distressed versions, and many more Oni styles.

And I was glad to see Yuji has got in a couple of samples of Pure Blue Japan women's jeans. My girlfriend tried them on but they were too small for her -- if you have a very slim girlfriend (like 26-in waist), they may work for her.

I should also mention they stock a lot of cool stuff besides jeans... check them out before they get written up in the New York Times and stuff starts flying off the shelves when they get 'discovered'. When I was in the shop there was already a woman in there who was a publicist for Florida shops looking for a Japan denim connection.

takashi

Very nice news that Samura S0110XJ will be making a beach-head in the US. I think you American denim-heads will really dig its slim fit and left-hand twill Lee style.

Edited by takashi on Jun 10, 2006 at 08:40 PM

I'm pretty sure that Canton used American-supplied denim to start their line back in the 1960's.

Mmm... judging from the Pure Blue AI pics in the link above, the denim looks quite similar to the Samurai S510XX-AI which I posted here last summer:

Edited by takashi on May 29, 2006 at 06:12 PM