Bear and Tiger Vintage Japanese Matchbox Label Tee

The Story

A bear and a tiger face each other across a deep red field, drawn in fine engraved line and printed pale against the color. The bear stands upright at left, one paw resting on a bamboo stalk, while the tiger crouches low at right, head down and striped body coiled, a few bamboo sprigs scattered between them. The maker mark 熊虎印 sits in the top corner and SAFETY MATCHES runs along a banner at the foot. It is a lively, slightly comic animal pairing, the two beasts caught mid-encounter, and on a black tee the red panel reads warm and bold against the dark cotton.

Bears and tigers both carry real weight in East Asian imagery, the tiger as a guardian against evil and the bear as a figure of strength, so pairing them made for an emblem that was memorable and auspicious at once. This is a classic Meiji and Taisho match label, printed for buyers at home and across Asia in the great decades of Japan's match export trade, when animal subjects ruled the format. Surviving examples like this one now live mostly in collections.

On the tee, the two facing animals and the saturated red ground give the graphic a storybook punch that holds from across a room. Printed at a comfortable size on the chest, it reads as a vintage trade emblem rather than a modern logo, easy to wear and instantly legible.

Who Is It For

Collectors of Japanese matchbox graphics and printed ephemera, people drawn to animal imagery and the tiger and bear in particular, and anyone who wants a piece of genuine 1880 to 1940 commercial art on something they can wear every day. The black ground suits wardrobes that lean toward vintage and archival graphics rather than 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 bear-and-tiger label belongs to the export side of that archive, carried under the 熊虎印 mark, and is reproduced here directly from the original with its red ink, line work 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

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.