Tiger and Dragon Sukajan 'Ryuko'

A white tiger and a red phoenix meeting across the back, khaki or white sleeves

Three of the four guardian animals share this sukajan. On the chest, a white tiger on the left and a blue dragon on the right, each coiling over its shoulder and onto the sleeve. On the back, the tiger prowls in white and grey across the lower half while a red phoenix spreads its wings above, with blue waves and green grass embroidered between them. The sleeves are khaki in the photograph, a pale gold satin, with ribbing to match; the other version has them in white.

It is the sukajan with the most mythology on it, because the tiger, the dragon and the phoenix are the beasts of the west, the east and the south in the old cosmology, and the jacket is missing only the tortoise.

The name, Ryuko, is dragon and tiger, the two rivals of the tattoo tradition, drawn here at peace under a bird.

Every motif is embroidered, not printed, in dense satin stitch that stands off the cloth and catches the light differently as you move; that is the whole point of a sukajan, and it is the reason the jacket weighs what it does. The body is a satin blend with a soft sheen and a light quilted lining, and the collar, cuffs and hem are a ribbed knit, which is the construction the sukajan has had since the first ones were sewn for American sailors in Yokosuka in the late forties. It zips at the front and has a slash pocket at each hip. It washes cold, inside out, on a gentle cycle, and dries flat.

Wear it over a white tee and white trousers, as in the photograph, or over black to make the khaki sleeves the warmth. Nothing else with a pattern, because there is no room.

From across a street it is a black bomber with pale sleeves and red and white on the back. From close the tiger has every stripe, the phoenix every feather in three reds, and the dragon on the chest every scale in blue. It is the sukajan for someone who wants all of them and can only buy one jacket.

The sleeves are set in raglan, and the tiger and the dragon on the chest run their bodies across the seam onto the sleeves, meeting at the collar when the zip is closed. The khaki satin is a pale gold, the white a warm ivory, and the ribbing changes to match.

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