Edo Special Forces Tee

江戸特殊部隊 (Edo tokushu butai): "the Edo special forces."

Late one night in 1866, shogunate officers surrounded the Teradaya inn in Fushimi, south of Kyoto, to arrest Sakamoto Ryōma. Oryō, who later married him, saw them from the bath and ran upstairs to warn him. Ryōma fought his way out with a revolver, wounded in the hand but alive. Two years later the Edo period was over. Its last chapter looked exactly like that: topknots and two swords in the same room as Western guns.

Across the back two samurai in full armor stand ready, one raising a revolver while the other draws his sword, under the orange headline 江戸特殊部隊 (Edo tokushu butai), "the Edo special forces." The box at the upper right and the chest badge with two helmets read 江戸部隊 (Edo butai), "the Edo unit."

A drawn sword next to a raised revolver: that's how the Edo period ended, and it's the shirt for whoever brings up the Meiji Restoration at dinner and means it. Dark denim or black cargo pants both work, and its neighbors hang among the Japanese streetwear tees.

• Fabric: 100% combed cotton, 230gsm, pre-shrunk and soft-washed
• Print: direct-to-garment (DTG)
• Color: washed light gray
• Fit: unisex, regular; size up for a boxier, oversized look
• Sizes: S to 3XL
• Size reference: 6 ft 2 in wears L; 5 ft 7 in wears M

Measurements for every size are in the size guide.