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Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style
Look closely at any typically “American” article of clothing these days, and you may be surprised to see a Japanese label inside. From high-end denim to oxford button-downs, Japanese designers have taken the classic American look—known as ametora, or “American traditional”—and turned it into a huge business for companies like Uniqlo, Kamakura Shirts, Evisu, and Kapital. This phenomenon is part of a long dialogue between Japanese and American fashion; in fact, many of the basic items and traditions of the modern American wardrobe are alive and well today thanks to the stewardship of Japanese consumers and fashion cognoscenti, who ritualized and preserved these American styles during periods when they were out of vogue in their native land.
In Ametora, cultural historian W. David Marx traces the Japanese assimilation of American fashion over the past hundred and fifty years, showing how Japanese trendsetters and entrepreneurs mimicked, adapted, imported, and ultimately perfected American style, dramatically reshaping not only Japan’s culture but also our own in the process.
In Ametora, cultural historian W. David Marx traces the Japanese assimilation of American fashion over the past hundred and fifty years, showing how Japanese trendsetters and entrepreneurs mimicked, adapted, imported, and ultimately perfected American style, dramatically reshaping not only Japan’s culture but also our own in the process.
296 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 2015
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About the author
W. David Marx
5 books144 followersW. David Marx is a long-time writer on culture based in Tokyo. He is the author of "Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style" (2015) and "Status and Culture" (2022). Marx's newsletter can be found at culture.ghost.io.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 237 reviews
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May 15, 2018Japanese teenagers spend an inordinate amount of time, effort, money, and energy in pursuit of fashionable clothing, especially when compared to their global peers. America, with a population 2.5 times larger than Japan, has fewer than ten magazines focusing on men's style. Japan has more than 50.
...
This is not a book, however, about the intricacies of clothing patterns or design concepts. Our story follows the individuals responsible for introducing American clothing to Japan, as well as the youth who absorbed these American ideas into the Japanese identity. More often than not, the instigators of change were not trained designers, but entrepreneurs, importers, magazine editors, illustrators, stylists, and musicians.
...
Japanese fashion is no longer simply a copy of American clothing, but a nuanced, culturally-rich tradition of its own.
Marx writes for American magazines such as GQ and it is clear than the intended audience for the book is Western and does not have a lot of background in the subject. Therefore he begins with a clear, if not deep, explanation of Japanese history over the past century and half, focusing on the meaning of clothing in Japanese culture and how it was restricted -- i.e. a lot. Japanese fashion legislation makes Roman sumptuary laws look mild by comparison. In earlier eras people could be penalized for wearing patterns or fabrics reserved for higher classes, and even a few decades ago young people could be arrested for wearing rebellious fashions such as
I'm not reading the entire book because I'm not that interested in fashion. I got this from the library because it is literally THE ONLY book my system had on modern Japanese culture. How is that?
The author recommends the documentary "Take Ivy".
...
This is not a book, however, about the intricacies of clothing patterns or design concepts. Our story follows the individuals responsible for introducing American clothing to Japan, as well as the youth who absorbed these American ideas into the Japanese identity. More often than not, the instigators of change were not trained designers, but entrepreneurs, importers, magazine editors, illustrators, stylists, and musicians.
...
Japanese fashion is no longer simply a copy of American clothing, but a nuanced, culturally-rich tradition of its own.
Marx writes for American magazines such as GQ and it is clear than the intended audience for the book is Western and does not have a lot of background in the subject. Therefore he begins with a clear, if not deep, explanation of Japanese history over the past century and half, focusing on the meaning of clothing in Japanese culture and how it was restricted -- i.e. a lot. Japanese fashion legislation makes Roman sumptuary laws look mild by comparison. In earlier eras people could be penalized for wearing patterns or fabrics reserved for higher classes, and even a few decades ago young people could be arrested for wearing rebellious fashions such as
I'm not reading the entire book because I'm not that interested in fashion. I got this from the library because it is literally THE ONLY book my system had on modern Japanese culture. How is that?
The author recommends the documentary "Take Ivy".
April 17, 2017
Honestly? This was THE best book I've read all year. Which is just as well, because 2016 is now almost over and I have just managed to hit my target reads for the year.
Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style is a MUST for anyone with any interest in fashion, particularly Japanese fashion. In fact, fashion aficionados of the 21st century now know that you cannot possibly disentangle the geneneralised concept of 'fashion' from 'Japanese fashion', the most vibrant and diverse fashion industry in the world and home to the greatest number of men's fashion magazines per capita and a fashion-forward and hype-focused population like no other. But it wasn't always this way, which was the central message the book tried to convey.
Marx traces the history of Japanese fashion from its inception during the post-WW2 period through a number of styles, cultural icons, written guides, geographies and their resulting companies. He notes in particular the fact that 'Japanese fashion' was never really a concept that existed prior to Ichizu's artificial incorporation of Ivy style into the Japanese cultural mindset. Most notably, Ivy style, a 50's American fashion style that was recreated dogmatically by Ichizu and proselytised to the population through the magazine Men's Club, represented the first time Japan was introduced to any concept of fashion. WIth this, Marx reflects on the impact the resultant VAN company, created by Ichizu to promote this imported Ivy, had on the national consciousness, its legacy protected through companies such as UNIQLO and Beams, the premier fashion magazine Popeye, and other styles such as heavy duty, Americana, streetwear, surfer, prep, Miyuki-zoku, the denim fad ... all of which captured the nation in transitory phases and continue to leave imprints today.
Additionally, Marx writes about the impact on the creation of streetwear such as BAPE and Japanese avant-garde brands such as Comme des Garcons (Junya Watanabe), Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake and others managed to evoke on the Western fashion consciousness, representing a genuine two-way communication in style. He connects this to the explosion of Harajuku as THE most dynamic fashion location in the world ... a change that happened practically overnight.
What I found most interesting about the history of fashion in Japan was how the Japanese managed to infuse their own traditional values into the industry itself. Whether this be by the obsession the Japanese have for rules leading to their persnickety attention to detail when it comes to dressing, or by their necessity to be 'dictated' to by magazines, style guides, product catalogues and style icons, or by the fastidiousness of Japanese designers and retailers in recreating every stitch and fabric of denim to create jeans more 'authentic' than their American originals ... it was clear that the Japanese took the concept of 'fashion' to new heights and recreated it with such integral aspects of their cultural consciousness that it is now impossible to separate the 'Japanese' from the 'fashion' ... something absolutely unthinkable just half a decade ago.
Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style is a MUST for anyone with any interest in fashion, particularly Japanese fashion. In fact, fashion aficionados of the 21st century now know that you cannot possibly disentangle the geneneralised concept of 'fashion' from 'Japanese fashion', the most vibrant and diverse fashion industry in the world and home to the greatest number of men's fashion magazines per capita and a fashion-forward and hype-focused population like no other. But it wasn't always this way, which was the central message the book tried to convey.
Marx traces the history of Japanese fashion from its inception during the post-WW2 period through a number of styles, cultural icons, written guides, geographies and their resulting companies. He notes in particular the fact that 'Japanese fashion' was never really a concept that existed prior to Ichizu's artificial incorporation of Ivy style into the Japanese cultural mindset. Most notably, Ivy style, a 50's American fashion style that was recreated dogmatically by Ichizu and proselytised to the population through the magazine Men's Club, represented the first time Japan was introduced to any concept of fashion. WIth this, Marx reflects on the impact the resultant VAN company, created by Ichizu to promote this imported Ivy, had on the national consciousness, its legacy protected through companies such as UNIQLO and Beams, the premier fashion magazine Popeye, and other styles such as heavy duty, Americana, streetwear, surfer, prep, Miyuki-zoku, the denim fad ... all of which captured the nation in transitory phases and continue to leave imprints today.
Additionally, Marx writes about the impact on the creation of streetwear such as BAPE and Japanese avant-garde brands such as Comme des Garcons (Junya Watanabe), Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake and others managed to evoke on the Western fashion consciousness, representing a genuine two-way communication in style. He connects this to the explosion of Harajuku as THE most dynamic fashion location in the world ... a change that happened practically overnight.
What I found most interesting about the history of fashion in Japan was how the Japanese managed to infuse their own traditional values into the industry itself. Whether this be by the obsession the Japanese have for rules leading to their persnickety attention to detail when it comes to dressing, or by their necessity to be 'dictated' to by magazines, style guides, product catalogues and style icons, or by the fastidiousness of Japanese designers and retailers in recreating every stitch and fabric of denim to create jeans more 'authentic' than their American originals ... it was clear that the Japanese took the concept of 'fashion' to new heights and recreated it with such integral aspects of their cultural consciousness that it is now impossible to separate the 'Japanese' from the 'fashion' ... something absolutely unthinkable just half a decade ago.
July 27, 2023
At first, this book will seem like it has a really narrow focus and that it might not appeal to people who aren't so interested in Japanese fashion. I do have an interest in fashion, especially denim, which is covered extensively in this book, but this book's appeal was how detailed and all-encompassing it was within its niche. The lessons imparted in this book about how culture travels (especially pre-internet), marketing, and the logistics of international trends, trade, import, and manufacturing, makes this book particularly fascinating and widens the scope of the book past fashion.
The basic premise of this book is the investigation of how American fashion was brought to Japan, it becoming a hit in the post-war era, and the subsequent incubation of American (especially American Traditional, or Ametora) style in Japan. In latter half of the 20th century, Japanese designers took American style and iterated on basic designs that we take for granted, like button-up shirts, jeans etc. and made them something entirely of their own, outside of the purview of the Western fashion world. Now, the tables have turned -- large parts of the Western fashion world takes lessons from Japanese designers. A good analogy of this posited in the book is how the basic dish of chicken katsu was imported to Japan from Germany long ago, but now, served with miso soup and rice, Japan's take on it is universally recognized as authentically Japanese.
I thoroughly enjoyed this as a fashion book, but also as one that documents how culture and commerce can travel and be adopted by different countries. Strongly recommend!
The basic premise of this book is the investigation of how American fashion was brought to Japan, it becoming a hit in the post-war era, and the subsequent incubation of American (especially American Traditional, or Ametora) style in Japan. In latter half of the 20th century, Japanese designers took American style and iterated on basic designs that we take for granted, like button-up shirts, jeans etc. and made them something entirely of their own, outside of the purview of the Western fashion world. Now, the tables have turned -- large parts of the Western fashion world takes lessons from Japanese designers. A good analogy of this posited in the book is how the basic dish of chicken katsu was imported to Japan from Germany long ago, but now, served with miso soup and rice, Japan's take on it is universally recognized as authentically Japanese.
I thoroughly enjoyed this as a fashion book, but also as one that documents how culture and commerce can travel and be adopted by different countries. Strongly recommend!
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November 21, 2025one of my students lent this to me! inspired me to purchase jeans
December 19, 2024
Such an entertaining book about fashion in Japan in the 20th century.
The country was actually isolated from Western culture, then WWII happened, all that. Japan of course lost and was even more isolated. So when young people (essentially Baby Boomers) discovered American fashion, it was explosive and adorable.
The country was actually isolated from Western culture, then WWII happened, all that. Japan of course lost and was even more isolated. So when young people (essentially Baby Boomers) discovered American fashion, it was explosive and adorable.
November 27, 2022
Trudny początek, ale ostatecznie bardzo ciekawa książka. Mam anegdotki na kolejne 3 imprezy
April 25, 2018
This shit wild.
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February 13, 2023On the lookout for selvedge jeans now...and Japanese fashion mags
April 8, 2023
Really good and incredibly useful research-wise. But everything by W David Marx gives me the impression that he’s kinda annoying.
March 26, 2024
very fascinating!!
January 23, 2016
I read this on the heels of Julian Cope's "Japrocksampler," which is another excellent book about post-war Japan's adaptation of a Western form. I found "Ametora" a bit more engaging, perhaps because I'm getting older and menswear is now more interesting to me than obscure Sabbath clones. In any case, this book is absolutely wonderful. The way it contextualizes each wave of Japanese men's fashion within a historical and economic moment makes it a great primer on post-war Japan as well as a compelling read on fashion in general. I also liked that Marx subverts a few popular assumptions/stereotypes about Japanese design without being baldly political at any point. What a book. Heartily recommended.
June 16, 2025
he's reading nonfiction now. but only if it relates to his most perverse interests (japanese reproductions of american workwear)
June 6, 2024
This made me respect America-core and Japanese fashion so much more. Oh the things we take for granted! Fashion bros are still insufferable though!
September 3, 2023
A deeply engaging read that seemed to encompass everything and taught me something new about myself. The best type of nonfiction read.
October 17, 2024
So incredibly niche but right up my ally. Found it super informative and provided background/context to a lot of names I’ve heard bounced around in this space. Loved it!
April 21, 2017
This book is deeply informative and helps the audience to understand the origins of many popular American fashion trends. The amount of information that is included in this book is astounding. The author does a great job at explaining storylines and introducing influencing aspects that created trends in Japan that were then brought to America. The book describes in depth a wide array of things like photography and cultural events that were important in shaping trends. The topic of fashion exchange from Japan to the United States is a little known area of history that will be brought to the spotlight as the fashion industry of the United States continues to grow. The book highlighted many important facts about the history of the Japanese fashion industry that created a fascinating reading experience for the audience. Marx also does a brilliant job of showing the evolution of the fashion industry and the exchange from Japan to the U.S. While the book mainly focuses on fashion it also brings up a number of important questions about cultural exchange and how it relates to life in each country. Overall, this book is a fascinating read for anyone interested in the fashion industry of Japanese culture. The amount of information that was provided made the book worth reading.
March 5, 2020
一本美国人写的关于日本人如何师从美国男装文化，从复制、复刻、坚持、匠心独运，到最后从学生变成老师的读物。
本书从明治维新全盘西化的末期开始，通过一个个人物、一本本时尚杂志穿针引线，介绍美式男装风格是如何影响再被引进到日本，书中内容翔实，调理清晰，翻译的也精准到位。
服装风格演化的背后无不深受政治运动、文化冲突的影响。随着技术革新，材料演化，服装在展示大众审美的倾向的同时，还承担着意识形态的表达。
美国人兴许无意识的时尚文化却在多年后的日本得到了发扬光大。「日本人守护了美国的服装历史，一如阿拉伯人在欧洲黑暗时期守卫了亚里士多德的物理学。」如今的日本男装在美式复古风格复刻的基础之上，已经走出了自己的道路，而现在也随处可见各种英文网站在盘点考究那些日本牛仔裤中被挖掘出来的「猫须」、「蜂窝」、五金之各类细节。在21世纪，日本人「制造的美国风格比美国人还出色」已是各界共识。
在日本传统艺术教育当中，已有「模仿以求创新」这个概念的先例。在花道与武术中，学生借由模仿单一权威的「形」（Kata）来学习基本技巧。学生首先必须保护「形」，但在研习多年后，他们会脱离传统，接着分别去创造自己的「形」——这个系统称为「守破离」。
比起简体中文版的书名翻译《原宿牛仔》，台湾版的翻译《洋风和魂》更深得我心。当然，若不是原宿牛仔中的牛仔二字，也许我也就不会这么早注意到这本书了🌝
适合任何兴趣广泛的人阅读，尤其是对复古风情有独钟者。
本书从明治维新全盘西化的末期开始，通过一个个人物、一本本时尚杂志穿针引线，介绍美式男装风格是如何影响再被引进到日本，书中内容翔实，调理清晰，翻译的也精准到位。
服装风格演化的背后无不深受政治运动、文化冲突的影响。随着技术革新，材料演化，服装在展示大众审美的倾向的同时，还承担着意识形态的表达。
美国人兴许无意识的时尚文化却在多年后的日本得到了发扬光大。「日本人守护了美国的服装历史，一如阿拉伯人在欧洲黑暗时期守卫了亚里士多德的物理学。」如今的日本男装在美式复古风格复刻的基础之上，已经走出了自己的道路，而现在也随处可见各种英文网站在盘点考究那些日本牛仔裤中被挖掘出来的「猫须」、「蜂窝」、五金之各类细节。在21世纪，日本人「制造的美国风格比美国人还出色」已是各界共识。
在日本传统艺术教育当中，已有「模仿以求创新」这个概念的先例。在花道与武术中，学生借由模仿单一权威的「形」（Kata）来学习基本技巧。学生首先必须保护「形」，但在研习多年后，他们会脱离传统，接着分别去创造自己的「形」——这个系统称为「守破离」。
比起简体中文版的书名翻译《原宿牛仔》，台湾版的翻译《洋风和魂》更深得我心。当然，若不是原宿牛仔中的牛仔二字，也许我也就不会这么早注意到这本书了🌝
适合任何兴趣广泛的人阅读，尤其是对复古风情有独钟者。
December 22, 2024
Upon finishing this book, I am now armed with a pseudo-academic answer as to why I buy so much Uniqlo.
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August 6, 2025In one part this book is overflowing with anecdotes and stories of many of the familiar grails, on the other, this is an analysis of how those origins are intertwined with the social dynamics of Japan, from the post-war era up to the present day. The humble origin of Beams as a packing company, how thrifting evolved from scrappy buyers hunting US dead stocks to a highly clandestine network of foreign buyers, the birth of Okayama denims (and the punny origins to Evisu, Edwin and Big John). Most important to me were stories of the ever present tastemakers, in the holy tomes of Take Ivy or Popeye. Take Ivy, and its connection to VAN Jacket and its early executives were discussed in abundance. These developments occur within the backdrop of the identity crisis of the post-war era, the shadow of the American occupation, up to the bubble and subsequent crash of the 90s. Also, there were tons and tons of youth gangs (some of the earlier ones were oddly dapper compared to what we might think of the stereotypical youth gangs of the bosozoku).
One story was particularly memorable: VAN execs booked their first trip to US soil. This pilgrimage to what they assumed to be the mecca of Ivy, ended up in disappointment. Americans are shockingly badly dressed, and worse, they dress unthinkingly. Coping with this revelation, these men rationalized: for Americans real Ivy must be instinctual.
That anecdote best represented one of the throughlines of the book. The Japanese fashion scene could only come about because they were obsessive to often grotesque degrees. Americans don't need to follow guidelines for how to dress, as they can easily just look at how their fathers, brothers, and so on do. The consumers of Japan don't have that, at least early in the post-war period. Taste is manufactured through meticulous cataloguing, rule-setting, and countless magazines and books, consciously driven by companies trying to sell products. Often these rules are concocted out of thin air with references being so bare in the early days of Ivy. Starving for identity, and in search of cool, young Japanese flocked to these guides. In a way, this book represents a story of how scrappy capitalists ran an ad campaign so successfully that it metastasized into a whole consumerist culture.
It is also a testament of how within a globalized, capitalistic world, culture is extremely permeable if the market permits it, and it can develop independently of its origins. I think this is a clear net good. The final chapter offers reflections on how Ametora had fully become a Japanese 'product', which Take Ivy co-author Toshiyuki Kurosu compared with the origin of tonkatsu, a German dish adopted, popularized, and ultimately overshadowed by its Japanese iteration.
One of the most fascinating book I've read in a while. And not just because it perfectly described the traumatic experience I had seeing price tags in the upper galleries of one of Beams' larger store.
One story was particularly memorable: VAN execs booked their first trip to US soil. This pilgrimage to what they assumed to be the mecca of Ivy, ended up in disappointment. Americans are shockingly badly dressed, and worse, they dress unthinkingly. Coping with this revelation, these men rationalized: for Americans real Ivy must be instinctual.
That anecdote best represented one of the throughlines of the book. The Japanese fashion scene could only come about because they were obsessive to often grotesque degrees. Americans don't need to follow guidelines for how to dress, as they can easily just look at how their fathers, brothers, and so on do. The consumers of Japan don't have that, at least early in the post-war period. Taste is manufactured through meticulous cataloguing, rule-setting, and countless magazines and books, consciously driven by companies trying to sell products. Often these rules are concocted out of thin air with references being so bare in the early days of Ivy. Starving for identity, and in search of cool, young Japanese flocked to these guides. In a way, this book represents a story of how scrappy capitalists ran an ad campaign so successfully that it metastasized into a whole consumerist culture.
It is also a testament of how within a globalized, capitalistic world, culture is extremely permeable if the market permits it, and it can develop independently of its origins. I think this is a clear net good. The final chapter offers reflections on how Ametora had fully become a Japanese 'product', which Take Ivy co-author Toshiyuki Kurosu compared with the origin of tonkatsu, a German dish adopted, popularized, and ultimately overshadowed by its Japanese iteration.
One of the most fascinating book I've read in a while. And not just because it perfectly described the traumatic experience I had seeing price tags in the upper galleries of one of Beams' larger store.
September 18, 2025
A great book that studies the cultural transmission and retransmission between America and Japan through the lens of fashion. I definitely have a deeper appreciation for selvedge jeans, A Bathing Ape, and the unexpected ways that cultural trends can create a global dialogue. Japan’s influence on American style and “fashion” overall had exceeded way beyond what I originally thought. At the book’s core are groups of people in Japan that questioned traditional notions of authenticity, which gave way to new cultural forms, inspiring trends across the world.
“From the widest perspective, Japanese fashion certainly shows that cultural behavior is not an expression of eternal national characteristics passed down from generation to generation in an unbroken line. American fashion came to Japan in the hands of social misfits hungry for change and business success. It then blended with local customs and practices. The ecosystem was always changing, moving, and adapting—and going forward, we should expect the same thing to happen. The Ametora tradition will not stand still, but will continue to be shaped by the passage of time.”
“From the widest perspective, Japanese fashion certainly shows that cultural behavior is not an expression of eternal national characteristics passed down from generation to generation in an unbroken line. American fashion came to Japan in the hands of social misfits hungry for change and business success. It then blended with local customs and practices. The ecosystem was always changing, moving, and adapting—and going forward, we should expect the same thing to happen. The Ametora tradition will not stand still, but will continue to be shaped by the passage of time.”
June 7, 2025
My new obsession. I found this book through the podcast “Articles of Interest” and one of my favorite content creators, Percia Verlin. W. David Marx outlines an incredible story of how Japan became a global fashion powerhouse. Before this book I had no idea that the Japanese were the original fashion nerds, taking inspiration from American Ivy League college campuses. I absolutely devoured this book. I love UNIQLO and I found it indelibly fascinating to read about its predecessor companies’ stories. Highly recommend!
May 5, 2022
Good read for anyone interested in fashion, history or culture, particularly Japanese and how the US influenced it. The author explained the concept of 'ametora' concisely and comprehensively with references from culture, history and the Japanese psyche as well as their obsession towards detail and authenticity. I'd recommend this book to anyone, really.
November 6, 2022
A fascinating book that sheds light on the genesis of what most have come to know as modern Japanese fashion from the early years of IVY to more recent brands like UNIQLO, BAPE, and Engineered Garments.
As an outsider, having the curtain pulled back to reveal who have been pulling the strings of culture was very fascinating
As an outsider, having the curtain pulled back to reveal who have been pulling the strings of culture was very fascinating
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April 6, 2025The bible of Japanese Americana. I’m tempted to buy 1 million pairs of selvedge denim cinch-back jeans (shuttle-loom only), fifty pairs of Weejuns (none of this platform loafers nonsense), and walk around Tokyo listening to Eric Dolphy while pretending I’m an Ivy League graduate from the 1950s.
August 13, 2019
Excelllent read for understanding the apporpiation, improvent and exportation of culture between countries and how it affects the culture.
January 17, 2023
one of the best reads of my life
August 9, 2023
Outstanding book!
November 19, 2023
so good i love learning need to keep learning
June 18, 2024
w. david marx i am your biggest fan
December 17, 2024
i thoroughly enjoyed this book! it was a very interesting and informative collection of the assimilation of american and japanese style. definitely worth a read for a fashion enthusiast
Displaying 1 - 30 of 237 reviews