The Qingming Festival of 2025 has arrived.
Qingming is...
This word is an abbreviation of the phrase "pure and clear," which means that all things are pure and lively.
It's the most refreshing time of the year.
At a time like that...
I found some interesting fabric after a long time,
I would like to introduce a shirt made from this fabric.
But before I introduce it, I want to explain a few things...
Today I'm going to try a different blog structure than usual.
Let me start by introducing you to this photo.
A mysterious figure holding down the snake, which is this year's zodiac sign.
"Jiraiya" by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, who is also my spiritual mentor.
This nishiki-e is depicted in "The 108 Heroes of Suikoden"...
Who is Jiraiya?
A mysterious thief and ninja who appears in reading books from the late Edo period.
Yes, a ninja is...
Now he is a character that represents Japan,
He is also the most popular "Japanese" person in the whole world.
Actually, I like ninjas too.
I also have this thing.
I can't remember it now, but
A shuriken I got at a souvenir shop somewhere.
Yes, in ninja anime they often throw things with a "shushushu" sound,
It's the one that sticks into tree trunks and makes a "clang clang clang" sound.
For a true ninja,
Shuriken are precious and important items.
Don't waste so much,
Apparently he even retrieved it after throwing it.
I used to have something like this too.
(pictured)
Yes, caltrops.
I've already let go though...
I haven't met him since then,
An item that you regret letting go of.
Plus, I had this too.
Chain sickle weight (kusarigama fundo).
I've gotten it twice in the past.
I kept the last one until last May...
When I set up a stall at a flea market,
A mysterious person who claims to belong to the "Ninja Association" arrives.
I bought it (and showed them the certificate).
Ninjas tend to get obsessed with their tools.
You could almost say it's a kind of culture.
And I've always wanted to try making something ninja-like ...
That day came unexpectedly!
Tada!
Ninja patterned koiguchi shirt!
And American-made fabrics
Dead stock!
The moment I found it,
I ended up buying a lot of them!
(That being said, it wasn't that long :lol)
The color is...
This wine color (or shrimp brown in ninja terms), 
This olive color (or, in ninja terms, nightingale color).
There are many detailed "ninja-like designs" drawn on it...
Castles and scrolls,
Shuriken, iron fans, helmets, and other items are placed here.
Moreover, this fabric,
It's drawn in one direction...
To make a Koiguchi shirt,
I have to start over from scratch (sweat)
So I put a seam on the shoulder line,
We made sure that the top and bottom of the patterns on both the front and back of the dress are aligned properly.
Look at this perfect pattern match!
I think both Jiraiya and Kuniyoshi would be thrilled!
I made it with a short piece of fabric,
Production numbers remain low.
Please hurry.
What?
I found some ninja-patterned fabric, so I wrote an ad for it...
Actually, that's not what I wanted to write about.
First, let's take a look at this image.
As you all know, Double O Seven.
Personally, I like this episode, "You Only Live Twice."
The Toyota 2000GT appears as a Bond car.
It has captured the hearts of Japanese people.
This Double O Seven is a fictional story, just like Jiraiya...
The original source is the British intelligence service MI6.
In the United States, which is also an English-speaking country,
There is a stage where intelligence work is carried out...
That's it here.
As everyone knows,
CIA (Central Intelligence Agency).
This organization called the CIA
It was actually formed after World War II.
Of course, intelligence warfare had been going on before that,
Entering a more sophisticated era of warfare,
It can be said that the United States has also organized it in earnest.
Its predecessor organization was the Office of Strategic Services (OSS).
He was in charge of intelligence operations during World War II.
As OSS evolved into the CIA,
As a victorious nation, they apparently learned from the intelligence forces of Japan, the defeated nation.
This is it.
This poster is just about the movie...
Actually existed,
Army intelligence unit.
The instructor at the Army Nakano School was,
Apparently, Iga ninjas also participated.
Speaking of the Army Nakano School,
This person is very famous.
Returned from Lubang Island in the Philippines.
Hiroo Onoda.
A man who had been hiding in the jungle for 30 years since the end of the war, trying to carry out operations.
As expected from a graduate of the Nakano Army School,
A man who was educated by the descendants of Iga ninja.
The intelligence war was passed down from the Iga Ninja to the Army Nakano School to the CIA.
As you know, after the war, they teamed up with a certain Japanese political party and carried out various intelligence activities.
Representative figures include:
Kishi Nobusuke, Kodama Yoshio, Sasakawa Ryoichi, Shoriki Matsutaro...
The current decline of Japan is
It may have been orchestrated by people from the Showa era who acted as pawns of the CIA.
What do you think about that as an Iga ninja?
I'd like to hear it.
Garlic.
