OKAYAMA —
A customer looks at a pair of
short tights featuring patterns from samurai warrior armor at an
outlet of the department store chain Tenmaya Co in
Okayama.
Pairs of short tights for men featuring patterns from samurai
warrior armor are proving a hit with women looking for presents for
the boyfriends and relatives due to enduring interest in the civil
wars of the 15th and 16th centuries.
Rogin Inc, a Tokyo-based apparel company, offers 10 kinds of such
underwear including those bearing patterns from the armor used by
legendary 16th century samurai leaders Oda Nobunaga and Takeda
Shingen.
The company said it has sold nearly 10,000 pairs and has had
difficulty keeping up with demand since it started selling them in
December despite the high price tag of 9,240 yen per pair.
An outlet of the department store chain Tenmaya Co in the western
Japan city of Okayama began to sell the tights on Monday following
a number of other department stores nationwide.
A 25-year-old female shopper from Kurashiki in Okayama Prefecture
said she was thinking about buying a pair for her father. ‘‘They
seem a bit showy but they’re cool,’’ she said.
The samurai tights have gained popularity at a time when many women
are becoming interested in samurai-related TV programs and games,
such as the drama ‘‘Furin Kazan’’ which was aired in 2007 on the
country’s public TV network, Japan Broadcasting Corp. or NHK, and
the game ‘‘Sengoku Basara’’ which features fictitious good-looking
samurai warriors.