Golden Rooster 金雞宗記 — Vintage Chinese-Japanese Matchbox Label Sling Bag | Meiji Era Archive

The Story

金雞宗記. The Golden Rooster. Guaranteed genuine price and quality.

Against a black sling bag, the sunflower yellow ground of this label hits like a lantern in the dark, the iridescent rooster in his sky-blue circle, the six crimson seal medallions flanking left and right, the whole composition radiating the confident energy of pre-war Chinese-Japanese commercial graphic art at its most joyful.

This label from the Ichinichi archive sits at the intersection of Chinese merchant culture and Meiji-era Japanese printing craft, produced for Chinese-speaking markets across Southeast Asia, where the rooster carried associations of good fortune, punctuality, and auspicious beginnings. The label was designed to be immediately legible across language barriers: a beautiful bird, a bold color palette, and a maker's pride compressed into a small rectangle.

On a black sling bag, the yellow, teal, and crimson of the label do exactly what they were always designed to do stop you in your tracks from across the room.

Who This Is For

For the Chinese and Japanese vintage lover, the Lunar New Year aesthetic enthusiast, the daily carry minimalist who wants maximum visual impact from one graphic. This bag coordinates naturally with the Golden Rooster crop tee elsewhere in the Ichinichi Collection or stands entirely on its own as the most confident daily carry in the room.

The rooster, in Chinese tradition, brings confidence, good fortune, and a bright start to the day. Consider it a lucky bag.

About the Collection

Every design in the Ichinichi Collection is sourced from a personal archive of original Japanese matchbox labels spanning 1880 to 1940. The Chinese-market labels are among the most colorfully vibrant and culturally layered pieces in the archive  designed for Chinese merchant communities across Southeast Asia, printed in Japan with extraordinary attention to color harmony and cultural symbolism.

How to Carry It

Three zippered compartments for keys, wallet, phone, camera, and daily essentials. Adjustable strap attaches to a D-ring on either side for left or right shoulder carry. Cross-body or single-shoulder  built for wherever the day takes you.

Product Details

• Dimensions: 14.5" (L) × 9" (W) × 4" (H)
• Material: 100% polyester
• Compartments: 3 zippered compartments
• Hardware: Durable plastic D-rings, zipper closure
• Strap: Adjustable, reversible left/right carry
• Color: Black with black hardware , the yellow and teal label graphic commands the front pocket