Porter and Porter Classic: Yoshida Bags, the Tanker and Sashiko
Yoshida Kichizō left a farming family in Kanagawa at the age of 12 to serve an apprenticeship in a Tokyo bag shop. In 1935, aged 29, he founded his own bag workshop in Kanda Sudachō. The company it became, Yoshida, still makes its bags in Japan, and its brand, Porter, takes its name from the hotel porters who carry guests' luggage.
Our thesis: Porter and Porter Classic are one family's work in two companies, and the line between them is the first thing to read. Porter is Yoshida's bag brand, known for its collaborations; Porter Classic is the separate company that Yoshida Katsuyuki, the founder's son, started with his own son in 2007, and it makes clothing as well as bags.
At a glance
| 1935 | Yoshida Kichizō founds Yoshida Kaban Seisakusho in Kanda Sudachō, Tokyo |
|---|---|
| 1951 | Reorganised as Yoshida and Co.; head office moves to Higashi-Kanda |
| 1962 | The Porter brand is launched |
| 1983 | The Tanker series, designed by Yoshida Katsuyuki |
| 1984 | The Luggage Label brand |
| 2007 | Katsuyuki and his son Reo found Porter Classic |
Yoshida and Porter
The workshop was reorganised as Yoshida and Co. in 1951, and in 1962 the company launched its own brand, Porter. Luggage Label followed in 1984 and Porter Girl in 2009. The company makes its goods in Japan, by hand where it can, and has long worked with makers and brands from other fields; our Lexicon entry on Ura-Harajuku covers the scene in which its Head Porter line, produced by Hiroshi Fujiwara, appeared.
The Tanker
The Tanker series of 1983 was designed by Yoshida Katsuyuki, then the company's chief director. He took as his model the fabric of the MA-1 flight jacket, then little seen in Japan, and the bags used an original three-layer padded fabric with original fittings and zips. The Tanker did not sell well at first, but the company kept making it in small numbers; in 1997 the lead actor in the television drama Love Generation, Kimura Takuya, used his own Tanker on screen, enquiries flooded in and the series took off.
Collaborations
Collaborations are the most collected Porter bags on our shelf. A Takashi Murakami and Porter two-way helmet bag with padded flower plushes joins Porter to the Kaikai Kiki world, an unused Lewis Leathers and Porter helmet bag in black cowhide to the London motorcycle maker, and a My Neighbor Totoro tool bag, an Isetan limited edition, to Studio Ghibli. Our guides to Lewis Leathers and collecting Studio Ghibli set out the other side of each pairing.
Porter Classic
In 2007 Yoshida Katsuyuki left Yoshida and founded Porter Classic with his son Reo. The company is based in Hanakawado in Taitō, Tokyo, holds to making in Japan and opened its flagship in Ginza in 2008. It makes bags, including the Kichizō line named for the founder, and clothing.
Much of the clothing on our shelf is in sashiko and kogin stitching, the two Japanese stitched textiles in indigo and white. A Kendo sashiko French jacket made for the tenth anniversary and a kogin jacket in indigo double cloth are examples, and a rayon aloha shirt with travel panels shows another side. In our handling, the stitching on these pieces is deliberately irregular, and we describe it as made rather than as a fault.
How we read one
- Which company. Porter and Yoshida labels, or Porter Classic labels; the two are separate makers.
- Line and series. Tanker, Luggage Label, Head Porter or a collaboration, as the label or tag states.
- Collaboration partner and edition. Store-limited and event-limited editions are named on the tag or packaging.
- Condition. For bags, the corners, zips and the inside of the padded fabric; for clothing, the stitching and the indigo, which in our handling fades and softens with wear.
- Completeness. Tags, dust bags and any plush or strap that came with the piece.
What we checked and left out
Company dates, the Tanker story and the Porter Classic history come from the Japanese-language sources below, in our translation. We give no values.
Further reading
- Aloha shirt, in the Lexicon.
- Louis Vuitton and Takashi Murakami: another bag collaboration with the artist.
- The Porter and Porter Classic shelf.
Looking for a particular Porter bag or Porter Classic piece? Tell us what you are looking for, and we will look for it in Japan.
Sources
- Yoshida Kaban, Japanese-language encyclopaedia entry (our translation), for Yoshida Kichizō, the 1935 founding, 1951, Porter in 1962, the Tanker, Luggage Label, Porter Girl, Head Porter and making in Japan. ja.wikipedia.org
- Porter Classic, Japanese-language encyclopaedia entry (our translation), for the 2007 founding, Hanakawado, the Ginza flagship, Kichizō and Yoshida Katsuyuki's Tanker. ja.wikipedia.org
Last reviewed 15 November 2026. The Japonista Curation and Concierge Team, Tokyo, Japan.