This shirt was a gift from my friend Chris.
He got it from a souvenir shop in the Peace Plaza Mall in Japantown, San Francisco.
http://www.sfjapantown.org/Business/index.cfm
This shirt is not plain white, it has got this beige or tan tint to it. Which is subtle but nice (a refreshing change from my usual black or white.) The fabric is also just a notch up in quality than what I'm used to; "heavy cotton" it says.
The design is well done for its content. I suppose it is going for kind of a Zen thing (simple and meaningful). The front has a little version of the Kanji for "chaos" done in rough brush style. In a smaller font, just below that (in English), are the letters c h a o s, arranged in a small "X" shape. While being "chaotic" in design (because this makes it harder to read) the letters also make a fun pattern. The reverse of this shirt is the same logo larger with larger Kanji and English characters. It goes on to say, "Constant unfolding of the absurd ... life itself," again, simple yet beautiful.
This is a fun shirt to wear in 2 situations. 1) Going somewhere that will have people who like the exotic aspect of this shirt. A foreign symbol with a subtle design can be very accessible to a curious mind. 2) The other time would be: for someone who is into the Japanese culture. Someone who appreciates the reference and is into the same kind of things. It helps to spark a conversation with a shirt that details your interests so clearly.
The Peace Plaza in Japantown was my daytrip of choice back in middle-school, when I was a budding otaku. My friend Chris and I would ask our parents to drive us into the city, where we would go on a trip of shopping and discovery. This was a time before the Internet was really in full swing with downloading and full translations. It is home to one of the USA's few Kinokuniyas (a huge Japanese book store), which is awesome for finding new series, artists or merchandise. I went to some of my first anime conventions there, more like festivals but you tend to remember the first time you see a Sailor Moon crossplay...
You have a friend chris? isnt that like...div 0?
ReplyDeleteI actually had two friends named Chris! (Chris being the most common boys name that year) We had to use last names to differentiate. Not calling each other by our last names by we became, Chris F, Chris M, And Chris T. It was quite hectic but kind of awesome at he same time. That also being a small part of why I was called "Farmer" down in SoCal.
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