Quintessentially Made in Japan! Jackman's Heavy-Duty T-Shirts Knitted on a Hanging Knitting Machine

A brand loved by fashion enthusiasts for its high-quality items including T-shirts produced at its own factory in Fukui Prefecture: 'Jackman'.

Delving into the brand, we discovered a long history. For this article, we interviewed Kenichi Tago from Hit Union Co., Ltd.

A Turning Point Brought About by an American AAA Baseball Team Called by MacArthur

To explain the brand Jackman, it's best to talk about the history of the company. Additionally, the fact that the founder was a baseball fan is an important point in this story.

"In 1949, 'Tanabe Meriyasu Manufacturing' was established in Fukui Prefecture. It was founded by a man named 'Mitsugu Tanabe,' who bought three knitting machines and started with three people in a six-tatami-mat room. That's about 10 square meters.

"Originally, they produced women's tights using a mesh knitting technique［1］, but in 1953, a baseball team called the 'San Francisco Seals' was brought over from America to entertain the American troops stationed in Japan under MacArthur.