GUARANTEED SECURED CHECKOUT WITH:
400gsm premium heavyweight hoodie
80% cotton, 20% polyester
Anti-pill, soft brushed inside
Reinforcing tape in shoulder seams
Twin needle topstitching detail
Printed and labelled in New Zealand
White and Red Screen Print
The design seen on the front of the Hoodie symbolises a moment in time in the 1800s when the Japanese government introduced a variety of social, political, and economic reforms to assimilate and disrupt the original Indigenous peoples of Japan, The Ainu. The Ainu inhabited Hokkaido, the second largest island in Japan that is found in the north. The Ainu language was banned being taught in schools, they were ordered to cease their religious practices, and Ainu children were given Japanese names and put into Japanese schools. Our use of the rising sun in this design serves as a symbol of the Imperialist Japanese Government raining down on the Ainu people with terror, hatred and violence. Our use is by no means in support of the rising sun flag or the Imperialist Japanese government.
We acknowledge that in the present day many countries recognise the rising sun as a symbol of hate, and as a reminder of the horrors of Imperialist Japanese occupation. We do not intend to offend anyone with our use of the flag in this design. We do intend to highlight a sensitive moment in history, to share a vanishing culture, and to shed light on an injustice that was committed in the past, that is still felt today by the Ainu people.
Future runs of this design will see the removal of the rising sun.
We apologise to anyone that was offended by our use of the symbol.