What Makes Japanese Selvedge Denim Different

What makes Japanese selvedge denim different from ordinary denim? Josh Sirlin on the closed edge, the weight, rope dyed indigo, and the five Black Bear Brand denims woven in Japan, from botanical indigo to the winter wash.

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Come Ride Kyushu With Us

The fall 2026 Japan ride film is up. Kyushu on vintage motorcycles with old friends. Coast roads, mountains, caves, lighthouses and long lunches. Plus the studio pop in on October 31 and the holiday COMMANDER preorder on October 27.

Japan, Motorcycles, Have A Nice DayJosh SirlinOctober 23, 2026Kyushu, Oita, Japan motorcycle ride, vintage motorcycles, Freeway Oita, Josh Sirlin, COMMANDER jacket, roughout, rough out, rough-out, Horween horsehide, studio pop in, Black Bear Brand honey, The French BeekeeperComment

Black Bear Brand Jeans Begin and End in Okayama

The cloth is woven in Okayama, and the jeans are cut, sewn and finished there too. Josh Sirlin on the prefecture that makes the best denim in the world.

Denim, Japan, jeansJosh SirlinOctober 12, 2026okayama jeans, japanese selvedge denim, okayama denim, kojima jeans, selvedge jeans, rope dyed indigo, shuttle loom denim, made in japan, black bear brand, josh sirlinComment

Japan, and Everything Coming / 日本、そしてこの先のすべて

The Tokyo pop up is done, and right after it I went to Okayama. Denim, two new corduroy colors, two new fabrics, knits, and what is coming next. 東京のポップアップを終えて、そのまま岡山へ。デニム、新しいコーデュロイの色が2つ、新しい生地が2つ、そしてニットの話です。

Oita, Freeway, and the Bikes BJ Makes

Every spring and fall, Josh Sirlin rides Kyushu with friends he has known for ten years, on vintage bikes from Freeway in Oita, a shop open since 1986. Hot springs, the Yamanami Highway, and horsehide.

Culture, Japan, Japan & Culture, Motorcycles, travelJosh SirlinOctober 8, 2026kyushu motorcycle trip, oita japan, freeway oita, vintage harley japan, japanese custom motorcycles, yamanami highway, beppu, leathertogs 1933, josh sirlin, black bear brandComment

Black Bear Brand Opens in Tokyo: Our First Pop Up in Japan

Friday the doors open on the first Black Bear Brand pop up in Japan. Three days in Tokyo, the vintage engineer pant and coat in person for the first time, and a COMMANDER roughout jacket sold only in the room. Josh Sirlin on why it had to be Tokyo.

Culture, events, Heritage, JapanJosh SirlinOctober 1, 2026black bear brand pop up, tokyo pop up, ebisu, black bear brand japan, josh sirlin, vintage engineer pant, hunter green peacoat, commander jacket, roughout jacket, ichirotaComment

Twice a Year in Okayama

Denim is decided in the room, with the cloth in your hands. Josh Sirlin on his twice yearly denim meetings in Okayama: the rope dye house, the shuttle looms, and the sewing room.

adventure, Culture, Denim, Japan, Japan & Culture, travelJosh SirlinSeptember 28, 2026okayama denim, josh sirlin, japanese selvedge denim, rope dyeing, shinpaku, shuttle loom, botanical indigo jeans, denim mill, black bear brandComment

Eight Years Without a Word

Eight years under the same master, and we have never shared a language. Josh Sirlin on going back to Tokyo in October, and on what tattooing taught him about making things.

adventure, Japan, Culture, artJosh SirlinSeptember 24, 2026japanese tattoo, tebori, horitoshi, irezumi tokyo, getting tattooed in japan, josh sirlin, japanese craft, black bear brandComment

The Engineer Stripe

A striped cloth that belonged to this company and to no one else, on a garment that is about a hundred and ten years old. Josh Sirlin on the archive, and on what is coming with TCB.

Craft, Heritage, Japan, JacketsJosh SirlinSeptember 23, 2026engineer stripe, hickory stripe, black bear brand history, vintage archive, 1917 catalog, tcb collaboration, seattle history, black bear brandComment

Twenty Hours of Thread

Four days of chain stitching, white cowhide sleeves, melton wool, and eight months of production. Josh Sirlin on the ART Edition varsity jacket, on display in Tokyo on October 2.

Craft, Craft & Materials, Culture, design, Heritage, jackets, JapanJosh SirlinSeptember 22, 2026varsity jacket, chain stitch varsity jacket, melton wool jacket, made in japan jacket, bespoke varsity, tokyo pop up, limited edition jacket, black bear brandComment

Black Bear Brand Tokyo: Ichirota, Josh, and a Painting Made for the Road

The artist Ichirota painted Josh Sirlin with the motorcycles that carried him across the American West. He is bringing the original to Tokyo and giving it to Josh at the Black Bear Brand pop up, where it hangs for all three days. 日本語は英文の下にあります。

The Jeans

Shuttle looms in Okayama, a family sewing room five generations deep, and an inseam that is long on purpose. Josh Sirlin on the Black Bear Brand jeans.

Craft & Materials, Culture, Fabric Guide, Japan, Japan & Culture, DenimJosh SirlinSeptember 17, 2026selvedge jeans, japanese selvedge denim, okayama denim, black bear brand jeans, shuttle loom denim, raw denim, triple needle, black bear brandComment

Goose Down, and the Seattle Man Who Put It in a Jacket

The quilted down jacket was made in Seattle in 1936, and the oldest one left is still in the city. Josh Sirlin on down, the Himeji leather yoke, and our goose down vest.

Craft & Materials, Fabric, Japan, outerwearJosh SirlinSeptember 12, 2026goose down vest, down jacket history, made in japan outerwear, mens down vest, himeji leather, black bear brand vestComment

Black Bear Brand Comes to Tokyo

The first Black Bear Brand pop-up in Japan opens in Ebisu on the second, third and fourth of October. Josh Sirlin on Tokyo, the collection, and the pieces coming with it.

Black Bear Brand WOMAN, Culture, Heritage, Japan & Culture, Japan, menswearJosh SirlinSeptember 8, 2026black bear brand tokyo, tokyo pop up, ebisu tokyo, black bear brand japan, japan pop up, 東京ポップアップComment

The Lining Nobody Sees

Cupro is made from the fuzz left on a cotton seed. Josh Sirlin on the quietest luxury in a coat and why ours is made in Japan.

Culture, Craft, Craft & Materials, Fabric Guide, Jackets, JapanJosh SirlinSeptember 7, 2026cupro lining, what is cupro, cuprammonium, coat lining fabric, japanese fabric, luxury details, black bear brandComment

The Engineer Stripe: A Cloth Brought Back From 1913

A hundred year old stripe, read off an original coverall and woven again in Okayama. Josh Sirlin on the Black Bear Brand engineer stripe and the vintage engineer pant and coat.

Craft, Fabric, Heritage, Japan, Japan & Culture, materialsJosh SirlinSeptember 6, 2026engineer stripe, tcb jeans, okayama japan, vintage black bear brand, engineer pant, hajime inoueComment

The Peacoat Came Off a Ship

A Dutch word, a naval cut, and wool milled until the wind gives up. Josh Sirlin on where the peacoat comes from and how ours is made in Japan.

Heritage, jackets, JapanJosh SirlinSeptember 1, 2026peacoat history, what is a peacoat, melton wool coat, kersey wool, navy peacoat, made in japan coat, black bear brandComment

The Coats Come Out

Fall arrives, the tweed comes off the hook, and the peacoat returns with a new green. Josh Sirlin on cloth woven by hand in Scotland, coats made in Seattle, and wool woven in Japan.

Style & Heritage, menswear, Japan, Heritage, Craft & Materials, CultureJosh SirlinAugust 26, 2026harris tweed jacket, peacoat, melton wool, fall coats, made in seattle, made in japan, japanese wool, black bear brandComment

Denim Country

The wild west was loud, and the cloth that went through all of it was blue. Josh Sirlin on the jean jacket, the Cowboy Jeans, the people he rides with, and the looms in Okayama.

Craft, Craft & Materials, denim, Denim, fabric guide, Japan, Japan & Culture, materialsJosh SirlinAugust 21, 2026wild west, denim, one jean jacket, cowboy jeans, selvedge denim, okayama, japanese denim, indigo, black bear brandComment

Denim in Summer: What Heat, Salt, and the Road Do to Indigo

Most people put their jeans away in June. I do the opposite. The white core inside a rope dyed yarn, the old looms in Okayama, and what a hot road actually does to a pair of jeans.

Craft & Materials, Craft, Culture, denim, fabric guide, Heritage, JapanJosh SirlinAugust 7, 2026japanese denim, selvedge denim, okayama denim, summer denim, rope dyed indigo, shuttle loom, denim fades, travelComment