Ametora

Japanese looks imported from the United States now inhabit their own genre, which I call Ametora, the Japanese slang abbreviation of “American traditional.”

As part of this mobo ethos, Ishizu rejected the utilitarian gakuran school uniform and instead ordered a three-piece suit in brown-green tweed—at the cost of half a professor’s monthly salary.

Ishizu joined the editorial team, and the quarterly publication Otoko no Fukushoku (“Men’s Clothing”) debuted in late 1954. The magazine offered fashion photography and articles, but the editorial tone was pure instruction—a textbook introduction to semi-formal wear, business wear, sportswear, and golf wear. Ishizu and the other writers gave practi

Toshiyuki Kurosu in gakuran school uniform (left) and first suit jacket (right). (Courtesy of Toshiyuki Kurosu)

The widespread adoption of American style in Japan took several decades, but the very beginning can be traced back to a single individual—Kensuke Ishizu. Ishizu was born on October 20, 1911, the second son of a prosperous paper wholesaler in the southwestern city of Okayama. 1911 happened to be the very last year of the Meiji Era, a period that mar

In this fashion vacuum of garment shortages and rationing, the first group in Japan to adopt Western style were the Pan Pan Girls—streetwalking prostitutes who catered to American soldiers. As writer Kōsuke Mabuchi described, “The Pan Pan Girls were the de facto fashion leaders of the immediate postwar.” Pan Pan Girls wore brightly colored American

Japanese youth tuned into Armed Forces Radio Service to hear jazz and American pop, and local language covers of standards like “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” became hit songs. Newspapers syndicated the comic “Blondie,” giving Japanese readers a window into the material comforts of American middle-class suburban life.

Ishizu Shōten

Kensuke Ishizu in Ōsaka during the early years of VAN Jacket, 1954. (Courtesy of the Ishizu family)