The Story
A spotted sika deer reclines on a patch of grass at left, antlers raised, a red flowering sprig held in its mouth, while at right a large bat spreads its wings inside a red ring with what looks like a pocket watch suspended before it. The whole scene is printed in red, black and deep tones over a hot yellow ground, with a black cartouche of characters at upper left and a banner of maker text along the foot. It is a busy, slightly surreal pairing, two very different creatures sharing one bright field, and on a heather red tee the yellow panel sits warm and vivid against the marled cotton.
The pairing is a visual pun, and a deliberate one. In the export trade the bat (蝠, fuku) stood in for good fortune (福, also fuku) and the deer (鹿, roku) for prosperity and official salary (祿, roku), so a bat and a deer together read as a wish for fortune and prosperity, a rebus instantly legible to Chinese buyers. The maker line names a trading house using the 洋行 suffix, the term for the foreign-facing firms that moved these goods across Asia in the Meiji and Taisho years. Labels built on auspicious wordplay like this are among the most rewarding of the period, and surviving examples now live mostly in collections.
On the tee, the dense little scene and the saturated yellow ground give the graphic a storybook richness that rewards a closer look while still reading from across a room. Printed at a comfortable size on the chest, it carries the feel of a vintage trade emblem rather than a modern logo, easy to wear and full of detail.
Who Is It For
Collectors of Japanese matchbox graphics and printed ephemera, pop art lovers, people drawn to animal imagery and to the symbolism and wordplay behind it, and anyone who wants a piece of genuine 1880 to 1940 commercial art on something they can wear every day. The heather red ground suits wardrobes that lean toward warm, vintage and archival graphics over modern branding.
About the Collection
Every design in the Ichinichi Collection is sourced from a personal archive of original Japanese matchbox labels spanning 1880 to 1940. This bat-and-deer label belongs to the export side of that archive, carried under the 蝠鹿爲記 brand by a trading house working the Asian markets, and is reproduced here directly from the original with its red, yellow and black inks and age intact.
Product Details
This unisex jersey short sleeve tee is made from 100% Airlume combed and ring-spun cotton at a lightweight 4.2 oz/yd² (142 g/m²), with a retail fit, crew neckline, ribbed knit collar, tapered shoulders, dual side seams and a tear-away label. Bella+Canvas is part of the Fair Labor Association and is Platinum WRAP certified, manufacturing in humane, sustainable conditions. Sleeve prints and neck labels, where applicable, are produced using DTF (Direct-to-Film) printing technology on products fulfilled by OPT OnDemand and Shirt Monkey.
Size Guide
| Size |
Width (in) |
Length (in) |
Sleeve length (in) |
| S |
18.00 |
28.00 |
8.90 |
| M |
20.00 |
29.00 |
9.20 |
| L |
22.00 |
30.00 |
9.50 |
| XL |
24.00 |
31.00 |
9.70 |
| 2XL |
26.00 |
32.00 |
10.00 |
| 3XL |
28.00 |
33.00 |
10.40 |
Measurements allow a tolerance of ±1.50 inches. Fabric blends vary by color: Ash and Heather Prism colors are 99% cotton, 1% polyester; Heather and Solid Blend colors are 52% cotton, 48% polyester; Athletic Heather and Black Heather are 90% cotton, 10% polyester.
