Sukajan Jacket

In 1946 the tailors near the American base at Yokosuka, who had spent their lives embroidering kimono, began embroidering flight jackets for sailors who wanted something to take home. A dragon across the back, a tiger on the chest, the word JAPAN somewhere on it, and a lining you could turn inside out. The sukajan, Yokosuka jumper, was born, and it is the one Japanese jacket the world kept. Forty here: satin with contrast sleeves or all black, the flight-jacket bombers in matte nylon, and a washed-denim trucker embroidered on the same idea.

What makes a sukajan a sukajan

Satin, or a satin-look blend, with ribbed collar, cuffs and hem. A zip or snap front. A large embroidery across the back, and two smaller ones on the chest, usually a pair facing each other. Reversible, historically, with a second design on the lining. Contrast sleeves, most often, in a colour pulled from the embroidery. And the motifs, which are the vocabulary of Japanese tattoo and festival cloth: the dragon, the tiger, the koi, the crane, the phoenix, the eagle, cherry blossom, the wind and thunder gods. A varsity jacket carries a letter and a bomber is plain; if it has a dragon across the back, it is a sukajan.

The forty, by sleeve and by back

The satin sukajan with contrast sleeves are the classics: black body with beige, red, cream, champagne, green or blue sleeves, a white tiger and dragon on the chest and a red phoenix across the back; twin grey dragons over gold peonies; a nine-tailed fox in red peonies; Raijin the thunder god with his ring of drums; a gold koi through blossom and waves; a golden shishi lion; a moth and a sea monster battling in waves. The all-black ones with striped ribbing carry tonal dragons, a silver-and-magenta dragon, a red-maned dragon through blossom. Then the flight-jacket bombers in matte black or navy nylon with a zipped sleeve pocket, embroidered with Fujin the wind god, a silver dragon head, a white wolf in surf under a crescent moon, a phoenix through a gold moon. And one washed-black denim trucker with a red-and-white koi and peonies across the back.

How to wear a sukajan

Over a plain white tee, with plain trousers and a plain shoe, zipped or open: the jacket is the only picture in the outfit. Black cargo pants cropped clear of the shoe and a chunky black sneaker is the outfit that looks like Tokyo; straight black jeans and a court sneaker is the one that looks like everywhere else and still works. Never over a printed shirt, never with printed shorts. A sukajan with beige sleeves reads warmer and more vintage; all black reads sharper and later at night. It is the jacket for the evening and the one people ask about, and the embroidery is the reason: it catches a single light source and holds an edge that print flattens.

Sizing, fabric and care

Sizes S to 3XL, cut to Asian sizing, about one size smaller than US or EU; every page says whether to size up, and for the sukajan it usually does. Check chest and sleeve in centimetres against a jacket you own; a sukajan should sit at the hip with the ribbing snug. Satin or satin-look polyester, matte nylon for the bombers, denim for the trucker. Wash cold inside out, or sponge the satin; never tumble dry, never iron the embroidery; hang on a wide hanger. Embroidery survives washing far better than print, which is why a ten-year-old sukajan still looks sharp. Made to Japanese designs in Asia, and every page says so.

Sukajan: the questions we are asked

What does sukajan mean?

Yokosuka jumper, contracted. The jackets were first embroidered in Yokosuka, the port south of Tokyo with the American naval base, as souvenirs for servicemen.

Sukajan or bomber jacket?

Same silhouette. A bomber is plain; a sukajan is embroidered front and back with a Japanese motif. The flight-jacket bombers here are sukajan in a nylon body.

Is it reversible?

The original sukajan were; most modern ones, including ours, are lined plain and worn one way. The product page says if a jacket reverses.

Which sleeve colour?

Beige or champagne for the vintage look, red or green for the festival, all black for the night. The back is the same embroidery whichever you choose.