Yakuza Ink Tee

極道 (gokudō): "the yakuza way."

The word yakuza comes from a losing hand. In oicho-kabu, a Japanese card game, only the last digit of your total counts, so 8, 9 and 3, read ya, ku and sa, add up to 20 and score zero. Gamblers used the word for anything worthless, and in time it stuck to the gamblers themselves, men who made a point of living outside respectable society.

A man squats in black brush ink, smoking, the smoke curling up past a dragon tattooed across his whole back. The big characters read 極道 (gokudō), literally "the extreme path," the gangster's own word for that life. His bust, cigarette and inked shoulder, sits on the chest.

The brush ink reads like a page torn out of a sketchbook, and it goes with anything from raw denim to work pants. Roll the sleeves and keep the rest plain; the back says enough. Browse the Japanese streetwear tees for more ink.

• 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.