Kiku Tiger Tee

虎と菊 (tora to kiku): "the tiger and the chrysanthemum."

On the ninth day of the ninth month, Japan keeps Chōyō, the chrysanthemum festival, a custom that came from China. Nine is the highest single-digit odd number and a lucky one, so the doubled nine called for a guard against bad luck, and courtiers in Heian Kyoto drank sake with chrysanthemum petals floating in it as a wish for a long life. The same flower became the crest of the imperial family, a sixteen-petal chrysanthemum.

A tiger steps out from a thicket of orange chrysanthemums and green leaves, glancing sideways with its mouth open, with a black sun behind it and its striped tail curling in from the top corner. The whole scene sits inside a thin black frame, like a page from an old album.

Like an old woodblock print, the orange petals come out warm and a touch faded on the washed light gray. Tiger-year birthdays have their shirt right here. Find its stripes and flowers among the other tiger 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.