Tengu Giri Tee

天狗斬り (tengu-giri): "cutting down the tengu."

Minamoto no Yoshitsune spent his boyhood at Kurama-dera, in the hills north of Kyoto, under the name Ushiwakamaru. The tale says he slipped out at night to the valley of Sōjōgadani, where Sōjōbō, king of the tengu of Mount Kurama, taught him the sword. The Noh play Kurama Tengu stages those lessons. The boy grew up to win the Genpei War for his half-brother Yoritomo, who then turned on him and hunted him down.

On a white front, an armored samurai with his katana drawn squares off against a winged tengu with a red face and a sword of his own. The vertical line at the top left is the title, 天狗斬り (tengu-giri), "cutting down the tengu."

In the tale, Ushiwakamaru took sword lessons from a tengu; here the lesson has become a fight, sharp and easy to read. Wear it alone with shorts in July or under a dark jacket in winter. More tengu turn up in the full run of Japanese tees.

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