スカジャンで使われる日本伝統の横振り刺繍
Souvenir jackets, commonly referred to as “sukajan”, have become a widely recognized item within the fashion industry this season. Although it has been a while since they were covered in the media in Japan, it is definitely the first time the entire fashion world has paid so much attention to them.
The souvenir jacket was first created soon after the end of World War II, mainly between the late 1940s and 1960s, as gifts for American soldiers who were stationed in Japan. At the time, American soldiers stationed in Japan often purchased traditional Japanese gifts, like Japanese dolls or pottery, before returning home. Soon, American-style baseball jackets with traditional Oriental images such as eagles, tigers, and dragons embroidered on the back of them, began being sold as gifts, which was the birth of the jacket that would later become referred to as the sukajan.
The largest manufacturer of sukajans was Kosho & Co., the predecessor of Toyo Enterprise, which is the parent company of Tailor Toyo. At the time, Kosho & Co. regularly delivered these jackets to the PX (stores) located within the American military bases.
The jacket, which soon gained popularity among American soldiers, later became popular among the youngsters around Yokosuka military base. Eventually, the “Yokosuka jacket”, which became known as sukajan, spread throughout Japan.
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