Diving Deep into the Domestic Denim Pioneer "BIG JOHN" & Exploring the Roots of Japanese Denim

As a pioneer of domestic denim pants and a brand that has made 'Okayama Denim' known both nationally and internationally, BIG JOHN offers a deep historical insight into the origin of Japanese denim pants. This time, let’s hear from Hiroki Matsuda, who is involved in various tasks including public relations at BIG JOHN, about the birth of domestic denim pants.

Transitioning from Workwear & School Uniforms to Focus on Jeans

“The founder, Kotaro Osaki, began his business in 1940 as a sewing company for tabi (traditional Japanese socks) and workwear in Kojima, Okayama, called Maruo Hifuku. Later, the main focus shifted to manufacturing school uniforms, which became a staple industry in Kojima as a whole.

"The fabric for school uniforms was predominantly made using a type of thread called 'Vinylon,' but by the late 1950s, a new strong and flexible thread called 'Tetoron' was developed. However, at that time, very few factories had access to this material, and Maruo Hifuku was unable to source Tetoron, forcing them to scale back school uniform production.

"One day, Osaki asked Maruo Hifuku's salespeople in Tokyo and Osaka what was trending among young people, to which they responded that it was 'jeans.'

"At that time, so-called jeans available were mostly used clothing that had been worn out, and people were resizing large sizes imported from America.

"‘What if we made these trending jeans from scratch?' was the thought that sparked the beginning of domestic denim pants production.”

Successfully Mass-Producing Denim Pants for the First Time in Japan

Thus, Maruo Hifuku embarked on producing denim pants for the first time in Japan, but it wasn’t smooth sailing from the start. Let’s continue to hear from them.

“To produce jeans, we first needed denim fabric, but at the time, there was no denim fabric available in Japan.

"There was a company in America called CANTON COTTON MILLS that produced denim fabric, and a Japanese company, Oishi Trading, imported this fabric. Our company contracted with them to start making jeans using the denim from CANTON COTTON MILLS.

"Due to the unknown hardness of the denim fabric, Osaki described it as having 'the hardness of tin.' They struggled a great deal with the sewing process, modifying sewing machines and even importing special sewing machines for denim from America. In 1965, Japan's first domestic denim pants were born, but they initially sold poorly.

"At that time, people had an image of jeans as being old clothes that had faded to soft blue colors, while the new jeans were stiff and dark indigo due to the starch, which deviated from their expectations.

"To address this, they likely became the first in the world to pre-wash the jeans to soften them before selling, which I believe marked the beginning of what we now know as “one-wash denim.”

A Burger in One Hand, Cola in the Other, Pants by BIG JOHN

After succeeding in mass-producing domestic denim pants, Maruo Hifuku begins developing their original brand. Until then, they were making patterns based on the silhouette of American denim pants, but with their long history of producing workwear in Japan, they decided to create a unique denim pant silhouette suitable for Japanese people.

“In 1967, Maruo Hifuku launched its original brand BIG JOHN. I’d like to share the story behind the name: the founder, Kotaro Osaki, had ‘Taro,’ which is a very typical name in Japan. When translated to an American name, it becomes ‘JOHN.’ Since Kotaro means ‘small boy,’ it turned into ‘SMALL JOHN,’ but for business purposes, a larger name was preferred, resulting in the name BIG JOHN.”

"And in 1969, WOODSTOCK took place in America, bringing the hippie style, which represented the fashion of the era's youth, to Japan. BIG JOHN made bell-bottoms, which became a massive hit domestically.

"Moreover, in 1971, the first McDonald's opened in Ginza, Tokyo, and during that time, there was a trendy keyword that went something like, 'Right hand holding a hamburger, left hand holding a cola, pants by BIG JOHN.'

"As a result of this hit, the demand for denim pants increased, and the supply of denim fabric from unstable America could no longer keep up, necessitating the production of domestic materials. Thus, they requested Kurabo Industries Ltd., now known as Kurabo, to produce denim fabric, leading to the introduction of pure domestic denim pants in 1973.”

The Standard of BIG JOHN

We have heard the story of how the mass production of domestic denim pants was successful in the 1960s and how a major boom occurred in the 1970s alongside hippie fashion; now let us introduce some current items that embody the standard of BIG JOHN.

“I would like to introduce two standard five-pocket straight denim items. The first one is called 'KURABO DENIM Authentic Straight,' made from the pure domestic denim fabric called 'KD8,' which I mentioned earlier. It features a moderately relaxed silhouette, representing the style of workwear.”

"The second item is from the 'RARE' series, released in 1983. This was born out of the idea to bring together the craftsmanship of Japanese artisans to create the highest quality jeans that BIG JOHN could proudly present to the world.

"Using old-fashioned looms, it became the world's first selvedge denim made with slub yarn, and the fabric was named 'Ransei Denim.' There is a dyeing company called Sakamoto Denim, where the chairman created a recipe for vertical indigo dye, which results in a unique fading pattern that showcases a greenish tinge, offering a color fade that is unlike any other.

"It is an item that embodies meticulous attention to silhouette, sewing, and detailing.”

It has been 60 years since BIG JOHN began producing domestic denim pants. The path they have carved out transcends Okayama and has gained popularity overseas as "Japanese denim."

Looking at the current trends in global denim wear, relaxed types with stretch are becoming mainstream. BIG JOHN has also introduced a line called COMPLETE FREE, which has also become a popular series.

Various denim items continue to be released to suit the times, yet the DNA of being a pioneer of domestic denim pants can be felt in all of them.