Our last interview for the GENTEN project was with the man arguably closest to our Founder, Kihachiro Onitsuka. Before joining what was then called Onitsuka Corp, Yoshida-san served as one of the most senior members in the Japanese Athletics Association, working with Japan’s best athletes and coaches. In Japan, working directly under a high-ranking official is seen as an extreme honour, so Yoshida-san’s move from leading the JAA to working as Onitsuka-san’s executive assistant was in many ways a promotion.

Dapper, gregarious and energetic, Yoshida-san immediately lit-up the room when he arrived on our makeshift set at the Onitsuka Tiger Planning office in Tokyo’s Harajuku district. I can’t lie, I’m planning to steal his entire style, his Savile Row-tailored suit, Henry Poole suspenders, linen pocket square, and especially his pocket watch all blew me away. The man had style and carried himself like a classical gentleman at all times.

Yoshida-san's watch next to mine

Yoshida-san worked with ASICS and Onitsuka Tiger from 1969-2009 and in his 40 years of service, he got to see the greater part of the brand’s evolution as a high-perfomance, high-technology sports brand, and it’s rebirth as a sports fashion brand. At Mr. Onitsuka’s side during every business trip and major decision, there wasn’t much that he missed during his tenure. Amongst the standout stories from our talk was the development of the Kirimomi-sakusen philosophy. Literally “The Spinning Drill Tactic” this was an idea born when the Russian Olympic wrestling team refused to wear Onitsuka Tiger shoes because at the time, the company didn’t create any apparel or equipment to go along with their footwear. Under the guidance of Onitsuka-san—who was inspired by a nameless, but hilariously pronounced Italian fashion brand—the team began creating products with a laser-like focus that recalled the traditional kiri woodworking tool, which creates a pinpoint hole by being spun in place.

Mr. Onitsuka in the 80's

Yoshida-san’s energy vacillated throughout the day. At times he was thoughtful and reverent, as when he discussed Mr. Onitsuka’s leadership style and unique ability to adjust his internal clock to any time zone in a matter of minutes and at other times he was bubbly and giddy.

The Onitsuka Tiger Marathon Anthem

I’m not sure if it had to do with nerves, excitement or a mixture of both, but from the moment he stepped into the make-up chair, he started singing, and pretty much never stopped. Singing, not humming, not mumbling, but full-bodied singing, singing songs written to welcome tourists as they arrived at Japan’s major airports, traditional Japanese soul songs, and most important, the Onitsuka Tiger Marathon Anthem. The Marathon Anthem was written as a rallying call for runners before they began a marathon, that was sung in the 1970′s and 80′s across Japan. Yoshida-san was more than happy to give us his best rendition, and it was awesome.

This interview was bittersweet to say the least, while it was one of the more comfortable and fun parts of the process, it actually signalled the end of my project in Japan, which came with a heartbreaking realisation. Reflecting on the trip now, I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity, and at the same time, feel the burden of telling all of these stories in an honest way.

More photos below, and more to come.

Tokyo is a special city. Exhausted from our whirlwind week in Kobe, I slept most of the 3-hour train ride. When our train arrived at Shibuya station, overwhelmed by bright lights and loud sounds, I felt like I had awoken on an alien planet.

Shibuya Station

Emerging from my red-eyed, sleep-deprived, zombie-like state in the back of a cab I began to see the correlations between Tokyo and New York. Based on my first impressions, I would describe Tokyo as the more humble, more considered wing of the same bird as my adoptive hometown. Where Kobe was very metropolitan and very international, there was still a sense of quaintness exuded by the people; they were sometimes too considerate, too helpful and too nice to be believable as urban dwellers. Tokyo, like New York, seemed to race at the speed of light, and despite the time we arrived it seemed like life was in full swing on the still crowded streets.

I briefly stopped by my hotel in Aoyama, which I later found out was known as the “Beverly Hills” of Tokyo (the hotel I stayed in still hasn’t found out), before leaving to explore Shibuya more thoroughly.

As bright as Times Square but as rebellious as Camden, Shibuya on a Saturday Night was definitely a visual experience, with Goths, Punks, Hip-Hop heads and of course the world-famous “Shibuya Girls” milling from club to club. One thing that surprised me right off the bat was the number of foreigners on the streets of Tokyo: not just the expected tourists, but also Nigerian club promoters, Russian ballet dancers and no shortage of white guys dressed like Japanese cartoon characters.

The next day, I tried to take advantage of the Summer Sale season and visit the extensive list of stores that I got from Kwon (the guy that brought you this, this, and these amongst others.) In addition to the usual suspects like Alife, Supreme and UNDFTD, the deep, deep itinerary he gave me included a lot of homegrown stores like Okura, Silas&Maria and the flagships for Japanese brands like Visvim and White Mountaineering. Each neighbourhood had a very distinct character that was reflected in the character and curation of its stores: Harajuku is all flash, and focused on the new, Daikanyama’s boutiques communicate class and subtlety, and Ueno’s “stores” –like the legendary Mita Sneakers–feel more like stands in a Third World flea market.

I can’t talk about Tokyo without talking about the great people that I got a chance to hang out with who all helped make the experience as comfortable as possible for me.
Thank you to:
My new homegirl Aya for showing me the sites and putting up with me while I played The Ultimate Tourist.

My best friend‘s father, the great Philip Woo for inviting me to the New York Bar of Lost in Translation fame to see you play, then taking me out for sashimi.

The view from New York Bar

Thanks to my friend Takayuki Akachi (also known as this guy), Akiko and the Tangram team, it was great to finally meet you all and I hope we get to work together soon.

Thanks to Takashi and the geniuses at Team-Lab for letting me see your mad scientist laboratory, firehouse burgers and taking me out on my last night.

And finally thanks to Ian, Toshiki, Chris and Micke from the AQ extended family for not only showing me a great time, but also helping make this project happen.

A wrap-up of the final interview to come.

Over 10 months of work came to a head last week at our Family and Friends event, where ASICS and Onitsuka Tiger debuted our new lifestyle collections as well as a handful of special collaborations at our temporary gallery space in Berlin. To close out the week, Donnis and DE DE MOUSE both took the stage at our closing party, providing what I’m told was one of the highlights of a week packed with events.

I feel like I walked through a whirlwind, but I have to extend my thanks to Dan Solomito and Yuu Kobayashi for being patient and gracious throughout the process, Elisabeth Ouni for joining us for the ride, Karl, the Illustrious One for helping us with the tapes and some word of mouth promotions, Yoske for bringing the venue to life, and of course to the whole ASICS/OT Family.

Pictures by Jack Morgan and Marco Dolo below:

A part of the Gallery

Another Wing of the Gallery

Kimono-wrapped Skateboards courtesy of Zillion

Human Tetris

Ouni at Work

Team Dinner

Why am I smiling? Because I'm holding the cash

Things by Ryu Itadani from Onitsuka Tiger on Vimeo.

And the campaign rolls on…
This was a very special piece for us, in addition to being very talented, Ryu is also extremely humble, and gracious, and I think this look into his artistic process shows that.
Creating art out of every day life, isn’t that what we all strive to do?

ASICS/Onitsuka Tiger will be back in Berlin this summer for Fashion Week to show off our newest collections, highlighted as always by our collaboration projects. As you can see on the flyer, collabs with Hanon, Shoes-Up, Tillman Lauterbach and more will be present at this summer’s gallery.

I also PROMISE some surprises at our closing night party.
Big, BIG surprises

Straight out of Brooklyn, NY Raval & Knight is an up-and-coming Menswear brand that was created “to move past national boundaries and manufactured conflicts in design and style.” Founded by my friend Man Hoang and his partner Samuel Hubler, the line features detailed, handmade pieces inspired by 1970′s American style but constructed with British fabrics and techniques. To see two 20-somethings create such focused and mature work is truly inspiring.

Visit their website and buy something from the store here

Pictures from my trip home for my baby’s birthday.

RIP

Black Apple Spring/Summer 2011 Featuring Machine Gun Kelly from LightUp Film on Vimeo.

LightUp recently partnered with Black Apple and up and coming Cleveland based rapper Machine Gun Kelly to create a promotional music video for the brand’s latest season. Look out for this online and off.

Papa Ghana – I Am An African by PapaGhana

First single by the homie Papa Ghana produced by Ricky Rick. 1/6th of Amsterdam’s Daily Paper Crew, I really respect these kids’ movement.

Available on iTunes