Kaze Pants - Black

風 (kaze): "wind."

On the first three nights of September, the sloping streets of Yatsuo in Toyama fill with Owara Kaze no Bon, the wind festival. It began as a prayer to calm the winds of early September, which can flatten the rice just before harvest. Dancers in straw hats pulled low over their faces move slowly down the lanes to shamisen, drum and the bowed kokyū, late into the night.

The black is a soft off-black with a crinkle running through the cotton-linen, and the legs balloon out on curved seams before gathering into cuffs at the ankle. Catch a breeze and the legs fill with it, the way the name promises.

Balloon legs are easier to wear in a dark color: a black tee and black sneakers keep them sharp, and a white tee loosens things up. The light, breathable cotton-linen is right for hot nights, festival nights in early September included. Straighter cuts are in our Japanese-style pants.

• Fabric: cotton-linen blend, light and breathable
• Waist: elastic with drawstring
• Shape: oversized balloon fit, curved seam panels, deep seat, gathered and tapered ankle cuffs
• Pockets: side pockets
• Sizes: jeans-style waist sizes 30, 31, 33, 34, 36, 38
• Size reference: 6 ft 2 in, 172 lb wears 31; 5 ft 11 in, 198 lb wears 34

Measurements for every size are in the size guide.