American band Vasudeva uses real Japanese convenience store receipt for shirt design

Master Blaster

Jul 17, 2019

But what do people in Japan think about the design?

Earlier this year progressive rock band Vasudeva did a whirlwind tour of Japan, playing three shows in Tokyo with stops in Kyoto and Nagoya in between. Fans of the New Jersey trio were treated to their spacey post-rock tones played alongside upbeat driving rock and occasionally even jazzy riffs.

However, during their visit, the group picked up something that would end up making more of an impact than anyone would have imagined. Now available on Vasudeva’s website is a shirt bearing a quintessential slice of Japanese life.

▼ “An American post-rock band made a new T-shirt using a Family Mart receipt. lol”

With the exception of replacing “Family Mart” with “Vasudeva,” the shirt is a near identical reproduction of an actual receipt from the major convenience store chain. So much so that we can learn that one of the members was in the Family Mart by Shindaita Station in Setagaya, Tokyo at 12:26 p.m. on Thursday, 2 May.

It was the day after their last show at Kichijoji Warp so they must have been hungry, buying a Pizza Margherita Sandwich, banana, orange, and cafe latte. And for dessert was one of those fish-shaped “taiyaki” cakes with custard cream in the middle.

▼ If “Happy Taste Fish Cake” isn’t the title of Vasudeva’s next album, it’ll be mighty disappointing.

The whole thing cost them 1,154 yen (US$10.69) which is a little steep, but pretty much what you’d expect from a convenience store meal. And considering I’ve never seen a Family Mart that sells oranges and bananas where I live, I’d say they got pretty lucky.

On the other hand, we may never know if they won any Uta no Prince-sama merchandise by scanning the QR code at the bottom.

The big question, however, is what do Japanese people think about the unusual stylistic choice of putting a FamilyMart receipt on a shirt?

“What is that? I really want it.”
“That idea is too good.”
“I see they’re the types to pay with large bills rather than fishing out exact change.”
“I wonder if Family Mart is getting flooded with people wanting to buy those shirts.”
“I want that. I wonder if it will start a receipt T-shirt fad.”
“I was surprised to see Otoya-kun [Uta no Prince character] there too.”
“Is it okay to use the Uta no Prince stuff?”

There was a lot of concern among Japanese people about the likeness of Ittoki Otoaya that appears on the original receipt. However, it looks like they obscured his face considerably in the final print of the shirt, perhaps to avoid any potential problems with the makers of the popular video game and anime series.

That aside, Vasudeva ought to be happy with the overwhelmingly positive response to their shirt design in Japan, especially in this age of accusations of cultural appropriation. To use an ancient symbol of Japanese culture that dates way back to the late Showa era (1985), they were certainly playing with fire.