So far these’ve been the nicest pair of jeans ever. The heavy, 15,7 oz. denim takes some wear for it to start to get soft,  though after the jeans’ve been properly broken in, there’s nothing else you’d rather pull on. I had several other pairs of jeans that were supposedly there to broaden the spectrum of my wardrobe. In the end, I always ended up wearing these.

An absolutely brilliant pair of everyday comfort and cool.

I saw a question on the topic on the Momotaro Jeans Facebook Page and thought to myself that it’s good to have an answer to the question on the Nordic Denim House blog as well.

Japan Lines as a name comes from Japanese words “Nihon-sen”. Although there is no clear way to refer to the two lines, the Japanese use the words Nihon-sen for two lines. As the word Nihon means Japan, Momotaro Jeans has started to call them Japan Lines. The two lines have a somewhat legendary status in Japan as already long ago the Japanese soldiers in Japan painted two lines to their flag to rouse their battle spirit but also to indicate they are genuine warriors/soldiers. Painting the two lines on the back pocket of the jeans indicates that the jeans are also “genuine jeans.” The lines can be seen in plenty of Japanese artwork as well.

Picture courtesy of Sanditan.com.

Momotaro also had these lines painted on his flag as he went off to battle the Oni/Demon and this is also visible in the Momotaro Jeans artwork, not to mention many of their designs.

I hope this answered some unanswered questions about Momotaro Jeans and if you have more, just contact us for details.

There are deep, shallow, low rise, high rise, wide, narrow, tiny, huge, uncomfortable and unnoticeable watch pockets. Yet all these are just scratching the surface, as the different styles are as varied as the brands that make the jeans.

A few universal pointers to bear in mind if you’re using your watch pocket: The higher the inlet, the more difficult it is to access, especially if you’re wearing a broad belt. The deeper the pocket and the more stuff, say, a mobile phone, is shoved in, the bulkier and less enjoyable using the pocket gets. Vice versa, if the watch pocket is just big enough for the tips of two fingers, all usefulness is gone. As it is with all things, so it is with watch pocket size and cut – moderation. As the differences are so great, so are the uses. This is an unofficial Momotaro Going to Battle label project update presenting just what can fit into this specific watch/coin/fob pocket.

Now, the smallest items are easily carried in the watch pocket. Spare change, my trusted Zippo lighter, guitar picks, tokens (if anyone can be bothered), keys, condoms, scraps of paper with phone numbers on them, pot (not that we endorse using – unless you’re selling) and condoms (these are important). What about the bigger items then? Have a look below to see how an iPod Nano, a credit card, and the go-to tool of all men about town and other places, the Swiss Army knife, fit into the watch pocket of Momotaro’s Going to Battle labels.

This was what my Momotaro Going to Battle labels looked like six months in. Now, two months and three washes later.

It is noteworthy to mention that a boat was captained while wearing these. Initially the jeans got soaked from the spray and the rain, but after the storm eased up they dried quickly in the wind and when dry (much to my liking), became rather wind proof. The skiff was pushed for all its clattering 35 horsepower Evinrud was worth, and still nothing permeated the protective layer of hardcore Japanese denim. Momotaro 1, The Elements 0.

These Momotaros have experienced no noticeable extra shrinkage after the initial washes. My Going to Battle labels were also dipped into the Baltic Sea nearby and given a little rub with sand after which they were left to dry out in the sun. The irregular blotches and lines at the front and back of the knees is from said sanding. The stacking abrasions at the hem have grown lighter. I discovered that the more the denim is washed the higher the contrast between the unbroken, unscathed indigo and the worn parts becomes. The jeans adduce more wear than tear, with only a slight rip at the hemline from cuffing.

The traditional Japanese white lines and the leather patch have all evolved quite nicely. The patch, supple to begin with, is now completely unnoticeable from the rest of the jeans. Which is a good thing, as I have a tendency to rip out patches that are too big, heavy or studded. Because why would you not want to be comfortable in your jeans?

Last time I wrote about my Going to Battle labels I mentioned a wish to have worn them rougher. I now echo that desire. The jeans have more character and look far better than two months ago, but the fading is still too slow for my taste. I think these need to experience the concrete concrete kiss. Road rash here we come.

Momotaro Going to Battle labels after eight months and five detergent washes:

The Saturday’s almost done with. Instead of working the whole day I actually got out a bit and attended a certain social event. There’s nothing like mingling the whole Saturday. Interesting people, interesting event. Good fun. Back to business. I actually started working early on the site’s updates and now for those interested, there’s a whole lot of information about Momotaro Jeans’ history, concept and making on our site. But just to be fair and in order to have closure on “the concept” series, I will throw one more blog post, this time about Momotaro himself and the making of.

Momotaro’s story
Momotaro’s story is one of the five major stories in the Japanese folklore. Loved by people of all ages it has been passed down from generation to generation. Generally it is thought that the roots of the story spark the fires of imagination linking it to U-ra’s Legend, which is also a myth around the Kibi area in Okayama – the area which has always been shrouded in mysteries.

Rejuvenation
In the present version of the story, Momotaro is delivered from a great peach that drifted down the river to be the son of an elderly couple. In the older version before the early Meiji period (1868 – 1912), Momotaro’s story used to be a story of rejuvenation. It tells the tale of an elderly couple who ate a giant peach they found and were rejuvenated regaining their youth. Their youthful vigor resulted in a baby boy, whom they named Momotaro.

The story of dreams
The rejuvenation version the story of Momotaro was created to express the dreams and the vitality of the small island. This was a folk tale not only for children. Momotaro Jeans is also a story of dreamers who have been standing fast with their dream of spreading genuine jeans from Okayama to the world.

Production
Zimbabwean cotton is recognized as one of the highest quality cotton types in the world. It has also been evaluated as the best cotton type for high quality dress shirts.

Harvested from crops by hand, the raw cotton stays undamaged and free from impurities until the actual manufacturing process. For that reason, Zimbabwean cotton has many characteristics provided by its well-proportioned fiber structure, such as the high luster and whitening, in addition to good pliability and dyeing abilities. For a great pair of jeans, nothing less than a long staple and less jointed original cotton fiber can be used.

Quality cotton is not only used to achieve smooth fits, but it also provides better durability than cheap and hard cotton. Also, using quality cotton creates a naturally well proportioned slub yarn which can influence the vertical fade, or Tateochi, which adds to the charm of the jeans.

Momotaro Jeans took notice of this and chose 100% original Zimbabwe cotton to make their jeans, pioneering its use. This high class cotton has been the foundation for the worldwide recognition of the quality Japanese denim is known for.

Hand dyed natural indigo
The process of natural indigo dyeing prospered at the end of the Edo period. At that time, real indigo or Awa-Syou-Ai was called Syou-Ai due to its high quality and rarity. Later on, synthetic indigo dyeing was invented so that larger amounts of jeans could be dyed simultaneously lowering the costs. Due to the lack of successors, the more time consuming process of using natural indigo products has been gradually decreasing.

Nevertheless, Momotaro Jeans still continues using the traditional technique in their quest of achieving the original Japanese blue indigo. The natural indigo dyeing material is extracted from pre-hardened indigo plants, called Sukumo, which are then liquefied by adding lime water. The indigo is then dyed by the artisans, controlling the condition of the dye by adding sugar or Sake to help the fermentation process.

In the United States jeans were machine dyed using synthetic indigo. This method dyes merely the yarn’s surface, leaving the core of the yarn white. As a result, the indigo will fade from the fabric’s surface creating the vertical fade of vintage jeans. In the hand dyeing method, the fabric is repetitively dipped into the indigo vat; the coloring is squeezed out and the material dried until the whole process is repeated. This repetition is why the yarn becomes thoroughly dyed to the core. Consequently, the color fades less and delivers a deeper indigo blue.

Indigo/rope dyeing
Since its discovery, synthetic indigo has become the more commonly used dyeing material rather than natural indigo. In the process, a group of un-dyed yarn are twisted together and dyed as a single unit called a rope. The characteristic of rope dyed yarn is that only the surface of the yarn is dyed, the core of the yarn still remains un-dyed and it delivers the Tateochi style vertical fade similar to American vintage denim.

However, there are only few facilities in Japan which are able to produce the indigo rope dye which is an indispensable element of making denim. The indigo dyeing material which is said to be alive has an unstable character and has provided only a limited number of colors for the dyeing process. This makes the process require advanced equipment and plenty of experience in order to deliver a satisfactory color depth with a consistent color shade. Consequently, this has lead to the color of most of jeans makers to remain similar to one another.

A manufacturer of denim fabric, Rampuya & Co., created the original color for Momotaro Jeans. Rampuya & Co. has been gathering information on the dye, as well as developing new material while staying true to the original dyeing process.

Hand woven denim
The production of only one superior pair of natural indigo dyed, hand woven jeans takes at least three months to reach its final state. Tsuru no koubou, which was opened in 2002, owns an original hand weaving machine of which only few exist in the world. Hand woven denim takes almost eight hours of work per day just to produce one meter (3.28 ft.) of denim. This results in it taking at least three days to finish the denim for one pair of jeans.

The tension of the yarn on the looms differs on rainy and sunny days. It is also different depending on the season, for example, a hot summer and a cold winter. In such conditions weaving a yarn into heavy ounce denim requires the right rhythm. Denim fabrics weaved at a uniform rhythm with a hand loom, compared to those weaved by power looms and without such a technique, maintain a diagonal and loose density with a clear uneven surface, resulting in incomparable character.

Shuttle looms
Seldvedge (selvage) is an essential element of vintage denim. It functions as proof of the fabric being only weaved by the vintage looms called shuttle looms. Shuttle looms were invented in England in 1785 and later developed in Japan by Sakichi Toyoda, father of Toyota Motor Corporation founder, in 1897. When domestic heavy ounce denim was produced in Japan, automatic looms made by Mr Toyoda were a mainstream product, though no longer produced nowadays. The traditional production method has nearly disappeared due to the mass production of denim following the popularization of latest shuttle looms.

Denim fabrics for Momotaro Jeans are mainly made by shuttle looms. In order to weave heavy ounce denim with a rough feel, lowest possible tension and without losing any of the cotton’s original characteristics, a careful selection of power looms and a slow weaving technique are required to create genuine denim.

Momotaro Jeans pays strict attention to working on every part of the process such as the right choice of cotton, shape of slub yarn, dyeing, and weaving. This is why Momotaro Jeans delivers perfect fit and brilliant fading.

Sewing
For original jeans made from genuine denim, a special vintage sewing machine is indispensable.

In the early stages of the domestic jeans production in Japan, American production equipment, such as the Union Special Sewing Machines, were imported. By the late 1970s the imported machinery had replaced the local mass production equipment. The domestic sewing machines had a different structure from the vintage sewing machines, creating differences in the skew or buckering around the chain stitched part of the jeans. In order to provide this vintage skew and buckering, Momotaro Jeans has gathered the remaining Union Specials in Japan.

That’s all for now. I’m gonna leave you with few final words. A quote I heard today, which I somehow liked very much. If one day someone is doubting whether you can man up, you can use the following words.  “I shave, sir. I have a driver’s license. I’ve won a couple of fistfights. I saved a life. I’ve lain with a woman. I’ve been hustled, defied my father’s wishes, broken hears and been heartbroken. So by all the markers of this society, I am a grown man.”

Be easy everyone. I’m out, peace!

First, I need to tell you about the jeans themselves, then you get to see the pictures. Patience. Or if you can’t wait any longer, go on, scroll down, just get back up here to finish the story to find out how they got the way they are now.

Right. These are a pair of Momotaro Going to Battle label (ex Going to War label) jeans, worn for six months.  Three months in the winter and three in the spring/summer. They’ve been washed twice, first after the initial three months and again at the six month milestone. Detergent and a normal spin cycle were used for both washes. So far the Going to Battle labels have been used in snow, sleet, hail, rain, storms, sun and probably during other occasions I currently fail to recall. The jeans have been worn almost daily, the exceptions being when the Mighty Hangover’s been too mighty to allow any getting out of bed and going outside.

So. The look. The front bit and thighs have been chafing against my long winter coat so most of the wear on the front is from that. The slight fraying on the left hand pocket is from when my watch has caught against the lining . The back pockets show a little more wear, as well as the signature Momotaro leather patch which, incidentally, has become very soft. The crotch shows quite a bit of wear too (hey, what can I do? I keep getting stared at… there… you know). Yet, most of the wear and tear is on the cuffs. When I wear trainers, I mostly cuff my jeans, which also prevents any excess coloring from rubbing onto the trainers, and when wearing boots, I simply let the cuffs stack. The combined friction causes significant changes on the inner legs. For the most part the deep indigo colour is still intact, which is a testament to the heavy 15.7 oz. 6s yarn cotton.

It is noteworthy to mention the traditional Japanese white lines. With three months of continuous wear, it is natural that the lines too, get faded and lose the initial shine. Nevertheless, after washing the jeans, all the murkiness disappears leaving the lines as bright as the day they were painted: like a Hollywood dental clinic created smile – shining and perfect.

My verdict at this point? I wish I had treated then even rougher and I can’t wait for what they look like after a year.

Now, the pictures.

It’s almost time for May Day up here where it’s still snow on the ground. I know. Ridiculous right? Nonetheless, it shall still be an awesome Wappu – or Vappu or Labour Day or May Day – consisting of grilling, sparkling wine, brunches, friends and sunshine. Yes, we are that optimistic.

Yet, what May Day really stands for, is the beginning of the summer. The flowers are blooming, the skirts are getting shorter and the terraces are opening with frivolity filling the air. It’s one of the best times of the year. The time when the visual, experiential and culinary gourmand comes out in all of us.

Starting the summer season is Gourmet with their Quattro Skate kicks. Rock ‘em with your regular awesome denim. Or…

Images courtesy of Highsnobiety.

…combine them with a pair of form fitting denim, such as the Momotaro 0701s, and tux up for a wild night out. Kinda like this guy with a top half formal, bottom half informal look. Say, why not do it this Vappu?

Image courtesy of GQ.

In the event you prefer a lighter outfit, or wish for a more informal look for a night on the town or even for a more formal occasion, rock the white kicks with a summerier get-up.

Image courtesy of Sartorially Inclined.

Just remember: when the occasion calls for it you gotta suit up!

This time we’ve got an old Levi’s advert from a few years back and it is, quite appropriately, titled Wear Them Out. Now, Tony’s been talking about this a lot and I fully agree. I’ve been torturing my Going to Battle Labels just under 3 months now, and they’re sprouting a few nice whiskers on the thighs and the cuffs’ve received some extra wear, and even some tear, from stacking them. Winter is a brilliant time to start wearing new jeans: Lots of opportunities to dip them into snow, waiting for that spring when the ice begins to melt and the possibility of washing the denim in the sea just keeps inching closer. Just to get more of that personalised thing going on. More on this wear-project of mine in the coming weeks.

Back to business. This ad not only demonstrates how important proper wear is for denim, but is kinda cool as well. The only thing that would’ve made the ad better would be if the instead of the guy they’d had a Naked Girl.

Ok, fine. Not a naked girl, but a girl wearing denim. Sheesh. Can’t a guy even dream. Besides, I blame Tony for adding the excellent Quolomo and erect81 labels to our product lines.

Anyway, here’s the ad:

Some of you might have noticed that we’ve uploaded some videos on our YouTube channel and added these videos on our Media Centre.

We will keep adding more videos there in the future so stay tuned. Another thing I thought was worth mentioning is that our very own remy_le_beau has an entry at Your Big Break screenplay contest and there is still some time to vote for his writing. Read em’ and weep and do cast your vote.

Below are some of the videos you may find from our channel. The videos show the production process of Momotaro Jeans. It’s really great to see the production process with your own eyes. One thing I can say is that the process is indeed meticulous one. But that’s all for now. Weekend is here so I’ll try to get few hours of rest before another great week ahead. Be easy, I’m out…

Second day of the year and the weather is getting even colder. Yesterday I finished my Vintage 0901 -project with another wash and today I am starting my new Copper GL003-MB journey. Am I excited? Yes, who wouldn’t love a pair of new jeans. The project will start off in a very, very interesting weather as the temperature is about -20 degrees Celsius as I am writing this and should drop down to -30 tonight. Thus I will start my report tomorrow, after I put these jeans through their first elemental test.

But before we get down to reminiscing the good “old” days of the 0901 -project or the proper introductions of the new projects, I have a little something different for your reading pleasure this Saturday. I recently got my hands on an issue of WorkWear -magazine from Japan. Let me tell you, this magazine is something else. Imagine this, a huge magazine full of denim/ workwear articles and plenty of great denim.

I will share few stories and scans from the magazine in the future as well but will start off with few selected scans today. The reason I originally got my hands on the magazine was due to its articles and ads of our dear friend Momotaro Jeans and just wanted to share few scans with you.

The article shares few pics and details on the Copper Label as well as Going to War/Battle label -Momotaro Jeans. This works well with the start of my Copper Label journey today.

The translations are available per request and I will definitely be posting more similar articles as these come available.

I leave you with a throwback denim ad from the same magazine, a blast from the past might I say. Hercules, the world’s best quality overalls. I’m off to the freezing weather out there, so enjoy your weekend. But if your neck of the woods has same weather as here and you’re going out there, packs few layers of clothing just to stay warm. Peace, I’m out.