NAHA--After a rocky start, Kariyushi wear (the Okinawan version of the Hawaiian shirt) has become unique formal summer attire in the southernmost prefecture.

People are often seen here wearing the shirt instead of suits, with even the prefectural governor wearing one.

Kariyushi means “auspicious” in the Okinawan language.

The designs of the shirts vary from traditional patterns, such as “ryukyu kasuri” (patterns based on diagrams from the Ryukyu Kingdom era, which existed for about 450 years until 1879) and “bingata” (a colorful pattern), to pop-culture patterns, including hibiscus, “shiisaa” (a traditional Okinawan mythical creature) and “shima banana” (banana grown in the prefecture).

A SLOW START

Four people from Okinawa Prefecture arrived at an airport in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1968, when Okinawa was still under U.S. rule. The U.S. Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands (USCAR), which aimed to develop human resources in Okinawa under national leader program, had sent them.

The four were all dressed in suits and ties. Local staff, however, recommended that they wear Hawaiian shirts, saying, “Since you’re here to learn about tourism, you shouldn’t wear something so formal.”

One of them, Teizo Miyazato, who was running a hotel in Naha, believed Okinawa’s tourism should “learn from Hawaii and surpass it.”

At that time, most people from mainland Japan who visited Okinawa did so for a memorial trip to mourn Japanese soldiers who died in the ferocious Battle of Okinawa in the final months of World War II.

Miyazato tried to find a new form of tourism.

After returning to Japan, he immediately proposed making Okinawa’s own version of the Hawaiian shirt. Two years later, the “Okinawa shirt” was released.

Yoshinaga Oshiro, 86, who was the secretary general of the hotel association, tried to sell the shirts to bus and taxi companies. However, they refused to wear them, saying the clothing “hurt foot traffic” as the flashy patterned shirts were associated with hoodlums.

NEVER GIVING UP

The prefecture had severe shortages of various goods and resources after the three-month ground battle in 1945 decimated its social infrastructure.

People altered surplus military uniforms from the U.S. military, and soon the sewing industry became a popular occupation, supporting the reconstruction of the devastated islands.

Along the back streets of Kokusai Street, there were many tailor shops and fabric wholesalers.

Yoko Ishikawa, 81, who was 25 at the time, opened a boutique called “June” near Kokusai Street in Naha. She sold dresses and blouses she designed herself while employing about 10 women of the same generation as seamstresses.

Clothes at June sold well among junior high and high school students and young women.

After Okinawa’s return to Japanese sovereignty in 1972, however, the industry significantly declined.

Okinawa-made clothes were seen as being “made in Japan,” which faced restrictions on their export to the United States under the Japan-U.S. Textile Agreement that aimed to resolve trade frictions.

At that time, Ishikawa began making flashy dresses and blouses targeting women doing business with U.S. soldiers.

Tourists from the mainland had picked up since the reversion, and such clothing intrigued them as an option to wear while visiting.

The clothes were not popular among residents, however. Ishikawa made an Okinawa shirt with hibiscus patterns on it upon request from the hotel association, but she felt uncertain about where they would truly become popular.

Despite this, Miyazato didn’t give up. Oshiro also wore the shirts everywhere he went, following Miyazato’s advice.

Their sales pitch was “once you wear it, you can’t stop wearing it.”

Even when Oshiro’s daughter complained about his flashy attire, he continued wearing it. He persistently said to the local government, “In hot and humid Okinawa, we need comfortable attire as an alternative to suits.”

SUMMIT PUSHES SALES

Wearing the shirts in the prefectural assembly’s chamber was allowed in 1999.

The shirts, which have since unified under the brand name “Kariyushi wear,” were reportedly worn by the world leaders at the Kyushu-Okinawa Summit in 2000. Production skyrocketed to 110,000, doubling from the previous year.

The Okinawa boom and the “Cool Biz” campaign, which encouraged people to dress less formally in the summer to avoid excessive air conditioning use, further fueled the demand, leading to 490,000 shirts sold in 2014.

Ishikawa, who was once skeptical about the popularity of the shirts, launched a brand specializing in Kariyushi wear in 2004.

Online sales, which started in around 2010, mostly come from outside the prefecture.

“We couldn’t have imagined this future would come,” Ishikawa said. “Kariyushi wear is now a cornerstone supporting the sewing industry in the prefecture.”

Miyazato, later known as the “father of Okinawan tourism,” died in 1999 without seeing the Kariyushi wear boom. However, the attire became a hit, just as he had predicted.

Oshiro recalls Miyazato saying when the shirt becomes popular, Okinawan tourism would catch up to Hawaii.

The number of tourists to the prefecture surpassed Hawaii for the first time in 2017 and exceeded 10 million in 2019.

Okinawan tourism is gradually recovering following the COVID-19 pandemic. Sales of Kariyushi wear, which once plummeted, has also now returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Since Okinawa’s reversion 51 years ago, Oshiro said Kariyushi wear truly became an attire where “once you wear it, you can’t stop wearing it.”

“It has become a symbol of brightness in Okinawan tourism and a pillar that has helped us overcome numerous hardships,” he said.