An OD+SJ Collaboration | The ODSJ010 "Hidaribushi" Left Hand Twill Selvedge Jeans

Sword-wielding isn’t a walk in the park, and Samurai spent decades honing their skills as red-blooded warriors in our Land of the Rising Sun. The swords have been retired for centuries now, but our Blue Blooded brothers over at Samurai Jeans keep the warrior legacy alive with the celebration of Samurai history with every denim drop. In our latest team-up with the Samurai team, we wanted to commemorate the often forgotten and overlooked faction of the Samurai class. The outliers or underdogs, if you will. In Japan, there is an age-old proverb, "出る釘は打たれる" (deru kugi wa utareru, or "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down"). The class in question are the left-handed Samurai.

Among the samurai class where conformity and ritual were paramount, a few warriors stood apart. Historical records name Kusunoki Masanori, a general of the 14th century Southern Court, as a rare example of a left-handed samurai. While some are simply left to rumor and folklore, court documents prove that Kusonoki Masanori was left-hand dominant due to his distinctive writing style. Artwork depicting Kusunoki Masanori also display him wielding his Yari (spear) with his left-hand, catching any adversary off guard that happened to come across his way. While rumors of other famous samurai being left-handed such as Saito Hajime, a captain of the notorious Shinsengumi brigade do exist, historians have always been skeptical of this fact due to the lack of conclusive historical records paired with a general cultural stigma against left-hand dominant practices.

It’s from this spirit that we drew the name “Hidaribushi” (左武士, ‘Left Handed Warrior’) as a nod to those who defied the norm.

Just as left-handed samurai turned tradition on its head, Left Hand Twill denim does the same in the world of Selvedge denim fabric. Whereas most denim is woven in a Right Hand twill fashion, Lee introduced the LHT weave in the mid-20th century, setting their jeans apart from Levi’s and other competitors. The diagonal weave of LHT denim twill runs in the opposite direction, producing denim that feels smoother to the touch. Furthermore, this denim develops a distinct vertical fading pattern, and softens dramatically with wear. This is the foundation behind the heavyweight 17oz. Denim used for this collaboration.

Alongside all the bells and whistles that have become the status quo on all previous OD+SJ collaborations like the hidden arcuates, assorted metal buttons on the Selvedge fly, back-lined pockets featuring Selvedge details, amongst other otaku-level details, there’s a couple new additions. We’re stoked to include our original “OD” Brass button to the assorted button fly, as well as a black coated OD Original “+” rivet proudly affixed onto the wearer’s right pocket.

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An OD+SJ Collaboration | The ODSJ010 "Hidaribushi" Left Hand Twill Selvedge Jeans

The OD+SJ "Hidaribushi" Left Hand Twill Selvedge Jeans drop on 9/11 @ Midnight (JST)

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