We’re happy to announce that we’ve added Samurai, one of the most legendary Japanese denim brands, to our roster of labels. Samurai was started in 1997 by Toru Nogami in Osaka, Japan. With a strong love of Japanese race cars and vintage Levi’s he set out to create a denim brand for the outsiders. Coming in well after the original “Osaka Five” Nomagi-San had to set his brand apart from the other Osaka based denim lines. He was quite enamored with the Levi’s 501 and he used that silhouette as his template while pushing the boundaries of denim weights and weave styles. Samurai was the first line to really push denim textures to new heights all the while creating multiple styles of in-house developed fabrics in weights which were rarely seen outside of Iron Heart’s signature 21oz denim at the time.

If you were around in the early days of Superfuture’s Superdenim forum you’re well aware of Samurai’s legacy in the Japanese denim world; if you weren’t there, we hope to show you why Samurai holds a special place in the hearts of so many Japanese denim aficionados.