DESCENDANT

We plan to release a spot item T-shirt with an illustration of a black marlin chasing sardines.

いIt may not be something you see very often these days. Still, I wanted to create a T-shirt with animal illustrations, like those sold as Hawaiian souvenirs in the 1980s and American aquariums and national park gift shops, so I asked Kazutaka Tsugaoka, an illustrator who lives in Hayama, Kanagawa, to draw one up. Tsugaoka-san lives right next to the ocean and is a senior angler who loves American culture and enjoys fishing whenever he has time.

The reason why I chose a marlin was to rekindle the adventurous spirit I had during my childhood. As I started going out to the sea with my children, I admired the far-reaching horizon and the animals that live beneath it. In fact, just a day before this illustration was completed by Tsugaoka-san, my son and I saw a real black marlin being caught, which sparked a goal of catching a marlin with my kids someday.

I think a T-shirt like this would look cool when the colors are faded and the neckline is worn out, making it look like it had been worn for years. The available body colors are black, white, ash and blue. We paid particular attention to the color selection. T-shirts available in a rich variety of colorways also feel like a dream.

Spoken by Tetsu Nishiyama

Kazutaka Tsugaoka
Kazutaka Tsugaoka|Illustrator, Essayist. He discovered fly fishing in his late twenties, became fascinated with it and eventually became completely immersed in it. For almost 40 years since then, most of his thoughts have been about fishing. In addition to producing the cover for the monthly magazine ”Angling” for 12 years, he has also published works and created numerous covers for fishing and outdoor sports magazines such as “Field & Stream,” “Sports Angler,” “Fishing & Life,” “Masu no Mori,” “Yama to Keikoku” and more. He also wrote a number of serial columns and created the main posters for the “Japan International Sportsfishing Exhibition” for six years. Hoping for fishing opportunities, he willingly agreed to create a mural at the Kussharo Prince Hotel in Hokkaido, which is a Mecca for outdoor sports. After that, he agreed to do another one for the Sengokuhara Price Hotel in Hakone, near Lake Ashinoko, a Mecca for trout and bass fishing in the Kanto region. However, the walls were vast, so he was busy working the whole stay. He learns of the high wall that stands in the way of his ability to balance his hobbies and profit. In 1993, the “World of Kazutaka Tsugaoka Illustration Exhibition” was held at Seibu Kinshicho. The “World of Kazutaka Tsugaoka Exhibition” was held at the Ginza Sony building in 2006 and has held numerous exhibitions of his works, mainly in Tokyo. He currently lives beachside in Hayama. Born in Tokushima, 1950.