It could even double as a cheat sheet for your next exam!
If you’ve been paying any attention at all in your Japanese history classes, then the names Sekigahara, Tokugawa, and Mitsunari may already be familiar to you. For those of you who can’t resist the call of sleep during hour-long lectures about near-ancient history delivered in a monotone voice, a concise summary:
The Battle of Sekigahara was a decisive battle fought on the 15th day of the 9th month in the 5th year of the Keichō period, which happens to be October 21, 1600. Two armies fought in the battle: the Eastern Army, led by Tokugawa Ieyasu, and the Western Army, led by Ishida Mitsunari. Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Eastern Army won the battle. Thus began the Tokugawa shogunate, the last shogunate in Japan.
Why should you care? Because you’ll need to be able to explain all of this when someone asks you about the cool shirt you’ve got on.
▼ Meet the team from the East: Hosokawa Tadaoki, Ii Naomasa, Fukushima Masanori, Honda Tadakatsu, Tōdō Takatora, Kuroda Nagamasa, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Kobayakawa Hideaki
Sengoku Corporation recently unveiled this simple, yet stylish t-shirt at a special event in Nagoya and announced that it would be available for sale at an exclusive web shop on September 30th. The cost of the shirt is for 5000 yen (US $48.69) and it is emblazoned with armored helms unique to the commander whom it represents, along with the names of each commander and the respective army for which they fought the epic Sekigahara battle.
▼Representing the West side: Tachibana Muneshige, Ootani Yoshitsugu, Ishida Mitsunari, Shima Sakon, Shimazu Yoshihiro, Konishi Yukinaga, Ukita Hideie, Ankokuji Ekei
If history isn’t your thing, Sengoku Corporation also has a pair of tights and a curiously large umbrella bag that will go on sale the same day. However, you might enjoy taking this history and fashion combo one step further by picking up some designer samurai duds made with traditional Japanese washi paper detailing.
Images: Sengoku Corporation
[ Read in Japanese ]
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