78% matchBrand profile
BIG JOHN
Kojima-based Japanese denim pioneer making selvedge jeans and workwear since 1940, from repro RARE fits to recycled-fibre Wild Duck cloth.
KurashikiOrigin
Workwear / HeritageStyle
$$$Price
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What to know about BIG JOHN
It started Japanese denim, literally
Founded in 1940 as a uniform and workwear shop in Kojima, Kurashiki, it made some of Japan's first domestic jeans in 1965 and developed local denim cloth with Kurabo.
Repro fits, but not only repro
The line runs from the flagship RARE selvedge jeans to 23oz heavyweight denim, chambray shirting, and Wild Duck cloth made with recycled fibre.
$250-400, mostly through heritage stockists
Jeans sit in the mid-to-upper Japanese selvedge band and are usually bought abroad via retailers like Cultizm, Redcast Heritage, and HINOYA.
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Brand facts
BIG JOHN is a Japanese denim label based in the Kojima district of Kurashiki, Okayama, the country's jeans-making capital. It traces to Kotaro Ozaki's 1940 sewing workshop, Maruo Hifuku, which made uniforms and workwear before producing some of Japan's first domestically made jeans in 1965 and, with Kurabo, developing homegrown denim fabric. The current range spans repro-leaning selvedge fits like the flagship RARE line, 23oz heavyweight denim, chambray shirting, and recycled-fibre Wild Duck cloth. Jeans typically run $250-400 through stockists including Cultizm, Redcast Heritage, and HINOYA.
- Founded
- 1940
- Origin
- Kurashiki, Japan
- Price
- $$$
- Facts checked
- August 2026
- Styles
- Workwear / Heritage, Minimalist / Contemporary
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