Mr_Michael_or_Mike wrote:I sent a message to the kusakura shop, which I believe is a company related to the Kodakan. Here is what they said about the unbleached gi:
Thank you very much for your inquiry.
Actually, yes !
This is a very high end product made with Japanese cotton (it's the only dogi in Japan, all brands included, for which the cotton raw material is grown in Japan).
Japanese cotton being very rare, the quantity of fabric sewn is very low, and since this product is made to order only, the production time is about 2 to 3 months.
The price is 57,000 YEN (about 500 USD) shipping included.
It is available in unbleached version, and wazarashi (traditional bleaching process) version and the size available are the same as for the JOA or JNF models.
You can place your order by sending an email to order@kusakurashop.com
(We are considering offering it as a regular product on our website, as it's, without any doubt, the best Dogi ever made in Japan... The price is quite a deal breaker in the Japanese market, but we really love the product, so we want to give it a try on our International sites).
I was intrigued by this judogi when I saw it in a video posted by KuSakura International in 2014 or so, and thought I would get one at some future point.
I ended up doing so in 2020, when the entire site went on a deep sale, mostly to satisfy my own desire for such an old-fashioned judogi but also (genuinely) because I thought that it was a good time to support the infrastructure of judo companies during a year that was no doubt extremely hard on them. I bought the unbleached model, rather than the wazarashi model, as a top end unbleached dogi was a big part of the appeal.
Briefly returning to that "old-fashioned" bit, it's interesting that in the début video from KuSakura International, this judogi features the IJF certification patch. It seems that the chief thing keeping it from re-certification with the 2015 rules is its weight, which is 900 gsm or so, and those rules stipulate a 750 gsm max.
It's actually a bit funny, because the whole reason for that weight limit was to eliminate those cheating European-style judogi that felt like a piece of wood or cardboard when you went to grip them (made all the worse by the tendency of European judoka not to wash their judogi)… but the good Japanese judogi were never like this. Even the heavy weight weaves were pliable, and this KuSakura 'Dojin Master' is perhaps the most flexible judogi I've ever handled.
In any case, I'm a bit glad I bought it after it lost certification, because in place of the ugly IJF patch (which is irrelevant to me as someone who will not be fighting international matches) there is a nicely embroidered KuSakura emblem.
The judogi feels excellent to train in and, despite being a KuSakura (their most expensive model at that), it goes completely under the radar at the dojo–as I think the people who appreciate this model would want. I did not want to post about it until I had had the chance to train in it a few times, and as I was not training during 2020, it took a while.
I am actually tempted to buy another good unbleached gi.
Given the weak yen, the KuSakura is priced now (for those not paid in yen) about what I paid during the 20% off sale. If anyone has been considering it, I think this may be a good time.
There are other options for a high-end unbleached judogi besides the KuSakura.
The manufacturer in Aichi (Tanei, I believe) that makes the private-label keikogi for several Tokyo-area budo companies offers unbleached versions of most of its judo models. Iwata lists theirs directly on their new web shop as "Special Double Weave Unbleached"; as for Seido, I believe if you email them about the model you'd like, they can let you know how to order it in unbleached. The ones labeled "Traditional Cut" on Seido's site are judogi; the ones labeled "Special Aikido Cut" have shorter sleeves like on Kano Shihan's dogi, so not allowed in today's shiai. (Both brands sell these at a discount off the bleached price, because it saves them the cost of the bleaching process.)
I've had very good experience with these Aichi-made dogi as well.
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