Japanese Shirts

The Japanese shirt in this collection is the summer version of the sukajan's idea: one strong print, worn loose, and everything under it plain. A camp collar that lies flat, a short sleeve, an open weave, and a picture across the whole shirt, ukiyo-e portraits cut into pop-art blocks, old Showa product labels, a skeleton riding a shark, two embroidered geese. Eighteen here, cut unisex, worn open over a tee or buttoned once, and this page is about how a printed shirt fits into a Japanese streetwear outfit without turning into a costume.

The camp collar, and why it is the Japanese streetwear shirt

A camp collar has no stand: it folds flat against the chest and opens at the throat, which is why it reads relaxed and why it takes a print across the shoulders without a collar cutting the picture in half. It arrived in Japan with the aloha shirt after the war and stayed, and the Japanese version is boxier, shorter, and printed with the country's own images. Worn open over a white tee it is a light jacket; buttoned once it is a shirt. The kimono jacket is its traditional cousin and does the same job over the same tee; the sukajan is the winter version.

Eighteen shirts: printed, woven, embroidered

The printed ones carry the picture edge to edge: ukiyo-e woodblock portraits cut into bright colour blocks, old Japanese product labels and matchboxes on dark green, sake labels and shop crests in navy on cream, a skeleton riding a great white shark through white waves on teal, a starry night sky, a roaring tiger's face on the chest with stripes all over, a painted jungle, sea creatures over newsprint, cartoon dogs and cats doodled in brown line, abstract paint strokes over a gingham. The woven ones are a dark tartan plaid with a chest pocket and a washed twill work shirt that comes with a black tie. The embroidered ones carry one motif across the chest: two white geese and flowers on blue or beige, a single red rose on a long thorned stem on a stripe. And one football jersey with a white polo collar and a gothic saint, for the people who know.

How to wear a Japanese printed shirt

Open, over a plain white tee, with plain shorts or trousers and a plain sneaker: the shirt is the graphic. In summer that means denim shorts at the knee and a low skate shoe; in spring, cropped black cargo and a court sneaker. Buttoned once, at the second button, it stays relaxed. The woven and embroidered ones are quiet enough to go under a printed kimono jacket; the printed ones are not, and a printed shirt under a printed jacket is the one combination this site keeps telling you not to make. Untucked, always, and the hem should sit at the hip.

Sizing, fabric and care

Sizes M to XXL, cut boxy and short, to Asian sizing, about one size smaller than US or EU; every page says whether to size up. Check chest and length in centimetres. Polyester-cotton blends for the camp shirts, a washed cotton twill for the work shirt, a polyester blend for the jersey. Wash cold inside out, hang to dry; the prints last longer out of the dryer. Made to Japanese designs in Asia, and every page says so.

Japanese shirts: the questions we are asked

What is a camp collar shirt?

A short-sleeved shirt whose collar has no stand and lies flat against the chest, opening at the throat. It is the shape of the aloha shirt and of the Japanese summer shirt.

Open or buttoned?

Open over a plain tee, mostly. Buttoned once at the second button if you want it to read as a shirt. Never fully buttoned and tucked; that is a different garment.

Can I wear it with the kimono jacket?

The woven and embroidered ones, yes. The printed ones, no: one picture per outfit.

Are these unisex?

Yes. Boxy cut, worn loose; a woman sizes down one for a closer fit or keeps the size for the oversized look.