Kirin Flames Tee

炎の麒麟 (honō no kirin): "the kirin of flame."

Tradition says Confucius laid down his brush at one entry in the Spring and Autumn Annals, the year 481 BC: a qilin caught in a hunt in the west. The beast was meant to appear only under a sage ruler, so a captured one in a disordered age read to him as his own way coming to an end. Japanese keeps the kirin's brighter side in a word: a gifted child is a kirinji, a kirin child.

On the back a gold-scaled kirin rears up on cloven hooves, horns swept back, wrapped in red and cream flame with blue clouds curling below it. There's no lettering anywhere, just the beast. A small kirin inside a ring of fire and waves marks the chest.

A kirinji is a gifted child, so hand it to the kid heading off to college, or the cousin who picked up a guitar and was good by Friday. The gold scales sit deep and warm on washed black. There's a second kirin, with wings, among the gods and guardians.

• Fabric: 100% combed cotton, 230gsm, pre-shrunk and soft-washed
• Print: direct-to-garment (DTG)
• Color: washed black
• 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.