Men's Black Wave Yukata 'Shiranami'

Wave crests drawn inside circles, grey on black, scattered like coins across a yukata

Each wave on this yukata is caught inside a circle. Round medallions of breaking surf, foam curling at the crest, are drawn in grey line on a black ground and scattered across the cloth at different sizes, some the size of a fist and some the size of a plate, the way old textiles drew waves as crests rather than as water. The obi is grey-blue, wide and flat, and it picks up the grey of the drawing.

It is the wave print in the men's range that reads least like a picture and most like a pattern, because the circles keep each wave separate and the black between them stays black. From across a room it is a dark robe with pale coins on it. Up close every coin is the sea.

The name, Shiranami, means white waves, the crests seen from the shore at night, and the word was also the old slang for a thief, from a play about a gang who wore them. On this yukata the waves are grey, and the only thing stolen is the eye.

It is printed, not woven, with the line of each wave kept fine and the black around it kept matte. The cloth is polyester with a dry hand and a slight texture, chosen because black must stay black around grey line work through washing, and because a yukata for the warm months should hang light.

The obi is included. Cross the fronts left over right, wrap the grey-blue obi twice at the waist and knot it at the hip. The obi is the one solid on the garment, and the circles around it make it look wider than it is.

At three metres it is black with pale rounds on it. At thirty centimetres each round shows its crest, its foam and the curl of the water, drawn differently in each one. It is a print built for the second look and drawn well enough to earn it.

The cut is long, falling to the ankle, with wide square sleeves and the room to walk. Worn at home it is a robe with the sea on it in coins. Worn out with black sandals it is a summer outfit that reads sharp from the street and traditional from the table, and it goes with black, grey and white.

Sizes run from M to XL, by height. It is cut to Asian sizing and runs small, so take one size up from your usual. Between two sizes, take the larger.