TAILOR TOYO

The souvenir jacket (Sukajan) originated shortly after World War II, when U.S. soldiers began embroidering their jackets with oriental motifs (such as eagles, tigers, and dragons) as well as the names of their units and bases as mementos of their deployment to Japan. These jackets were commercialized as souvenirs and began to be sold at PXs (short for “Post Exchange,” the common term for stores within U.S. military bases) across the country.At that time, the company that supplied these souvenir jackets and other clothing items to U.S. military bases was “Kōshō Shōkai,” the predecessor of Tailor Toyo (Toyo Enterprises). By the 1950s, when souvenir jacket production reached its peak, the company accounted for as much as 95 percent of the market share. Tailor Toyo, which began as Kōshō Shōkai and has continued to produce souvenir jackets for over half a century,This brand—which has continued to pass down the sukajan as a cultural tradition rather than treating it as a fleeting fad—is the true originator of the sukajan.