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Rare original 1950s Okinawa embroidered souvenir satin shorts with documented U.S. serviceman provenance.
These came from the personal belongings of a United States Air Force serviceman stationed at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, in 1953-1954. I’ve included three pictures of him. He was a left blister gunner on B29 Stratofortress bombers.
The shorts feature deep green satin-style material, yellow side panels and a large multicolor embroidered roaring tiger beneath the word OKINAWA.
These appear to be privately purchased Okinawa souvenir clothing in the same style/materials as the famous Sukajan jackets from the same era. The same service member had Sukajan jackets with the same looking tiger, so I would expect it was made at the same shop as his jackets. Their satin construction, dense tiger embroidery and serviceman provenance place them within the broader tradition of postwar Japanese and Okinawan embroidered souvenir garments associated with the sukajan / souvenir-jacket collecting world, although this particular garment is a pair of athletic/boxing-style shorts.
These shorts have been in storage since the 1950s and are in as found condition. They have not been cleaned, and I have made no effort to de-wrinkle them. I’ve added a tape measure to provide dimensions, but the waist dimension with the elastic stretched out is 18 inches across the front when laid flat. Without the elastic stretched it’s the approximately 12 inches that is in the pictures. There is a small coin/key pocket on the front right side that has a reddish-pink lining and a small flap. Interior has an original sewn-in crotch/support panel running from the front center to the rear center, similar to the built-in support construction used in period athletic/swim trunks. A quick examination showed what looked to be a circular mark on the back of the pants, but that may just be a scuff and not a permanent marking. I tried to take a picture of it.
Japanese collector terminology: Okinawa 沖縄 • Kadena 嘉手納 • Tiger 虎 • Embroidery 刺繍 • Satin サテン • Vintage ヴィンテージ • Souvenir スーベニア • 1950s 1950年代. スカジャン
