Blood Message (Tedman / Ted Company) Virgin Mary & Happy Smile Skull Reversible Sukajan, Quilted Black Satin

A discontinued Blood Message sukajan that turns black satin into two opposing manifestos. One face carries a monumental Virgin Mary with rosary, praying hands and sacred hearts flowing down the sleeve; the other, a diamond-quilted field ruled by the brand’s grinning Happy Smile Skull.

The Piece

This rare, fully reversible jacket from Blood Message, a label associated with Ted Company and Efu-Shokai, transforms black satin into two radically different canvases of Japanese tattoo-inspired wearable art. The official Blood Message archive records the design as a solemn Virgin Mary holding a rosary, embroidered across the back and sleeve, with the brand’s comic Happy Smile Skull on the reverse. The model is now discontinued and sold out at the brand.

Blood Message describes its name literally as “the message of blood.” The brand concept centers on placing forceful messages into clothing, drawing on the symbolic language of old-school and new-school tattoo art; its designs begin as hand-drawn artwork before being translated into garments, moving the tattoo canvas from the body to clothing. Here that philosophy is unusually visible: the jacket is covered in declarations of peace, blessing, courage, devotion, enthusiasm, artistic conviction and love for humanity.

The principal back is dominated by the Virgin Mary in a vivid red robe filled with pale swirling ornament, hands joined in prayer, a cross suspended from her rosary and an enormous radiating red halo whose alternating dark and bright segments read like stained glass. Above her, BLOOD MESSAGE is embroidered in large ivory capitals. She is framed by a white veil, ornamental clouds, rosary beads, crosses, scroll banners, a red sacred heart, praying hands, small celestial stars and handwritten-style messages of peace and universal love; a large heart carries the words “I love all people,” and a lower banner expresses peace on earth.

The drama continues down the wearer’s left sleeve as a continuous vertical narrative: the Marian figure beneath another radiant halo, then a dense tattoo collage of praying hands, rosary beads, crosses, a crowned or armored skull, a serpentine dragon, red flames, wings and feathers, ribbon banners, the Blood Message name and handwritten moral declarations. The front is deliberately asymmetrical: one side carries restrained white script welcoming favored people and invoking blessing, the other is densely worked with praying hands, rosary, dragon, flames, sacred heart and the brand name, while a red “I love all people” heart sits at the opposite forearm.

Reversed, the Marian mural disappears beneath black diamond-quilted satin, a complete second jacket with its own pockets, embroidery, ribbing and finish. One chest bears BLOOD MESSAGE in brilliant red, the other a red skull and crossed bones with short phrases on tattoo art, boldness and fortune. The back centers on the exaggerated grinning Happy Smile Skull above crossed bones, surrounded by embroidered statements including “Happy Smile Skull,” “Fortune Favours The Bold,” a reference to Blood Message being produced since 1996, a declaration of tattooing as a splendid art, a warning that losing one’s enthusiasm is the worst form of bankruptcy, and the thought that the world’s most beautiful things must be felt with the heart. The idiosyncratic English is an authentic part of the design, and the design language is consistent with the 2000s to early-2010s Japanese Amekaji and tattoo-fashion era.

Details

• Maker: Blood Message (associated with Ted Company / Efu-Shokai)
• Model/Reference: Official lot BLJK-025
• Era: Undated; design language consistent with the 2000s to early 2010s
• Origin: Japan (brand origin)
• Material: Black satin-finish outer fabric; black diamond-quilted satin reverse; dense multicolor machine embroidery with red tonal embroidery; cream rib-knit collar, cuffs and waistband; reversible metal zipper
• Color: Black; accents in blood red, ivory, silver-grey, taupe and brown
• Size: Japanese numbered sizing; tag size and flat measurements available on request
• Included: Original Blood Message branded presentation tag
• Construction: Fully reversible zip-front bomber; raglan-style shoulders; multi-panel sleeves; welt-style hand pockets on both faces; interior finished for wear on either side
• Primary Theme: Virgin Mary and Christian tattoo iconography
• Reverse Theme: Happy Smile Skull and philosophical tattoo lettering
• Status: Discontinued; sold out at the brand
• Gender: Unisex

Condition

• Very well-preserved pre-owned condition.
• Clean black satin with strong remaining sheen; bright, saturated red embroidery; well-defined ivory and taupe threadwork; clean-looking cream rib-knit trim.
• Natural creasing from folding and storage, minor surface waviness around dense embroidered sections and light handling marks consistent with a stored or carefully worn garment.
• No major tear, no obvious large stain and no apparent catastrophic embroidery loss visible in the photographs; the quilting remains clearly defined and the embroidery retains strong dimensional relief.
• Minor raised threads, compression, puckering and slight irregularity may be present around densely embroidered sections, as is normal for elaborately stitched satin garments.
• The fabric appears consistent with the smooth synthetic satin used in Japanese sukajan, and the official archive describes the reverse as quilted satin.

Iconography Glossary

Blood Message translates Christian imagery through a Japanese tattoo-fashion vocabulary rather than presenting it as a devotional object: the halo becomes a fierce red sunburst, the robe dense textile ornament, the rosary a wider collage of hearts, banners, flames and lettering.

• Virgin Mary: compassion, maternal protection, humility, prayer, grace and spiritual intercession.
• Praying hands: faith, remembrance, gratitude and a request for protection; in tattoo culture also endurance, memorial and loyalty to deeply held beliefs.
• Rosary and cross: ritual devotion and continuity; the beads draw a strong vertical line while the cross anchors the composition.
• Sacred heart: religious symbolism joined with old-school tattoo flash; here the hearts carry messages of universal love rather than wounds or thorns.
• Dragon: East Asian power, guardianship and transformation set beside Western Marian motifs, the cross-cultural recombination central to Japanese Amekaji.

Sizing Guidance

Blood Message originally produced this model in numbered Japanese sizes 38, 40, 42 and 44. The archive’s fit photograph shows a 168 cm, 65 kg model wearing size 40, though that reference is no substitute for the measurements of this individual jacket. Japanese numbered sizing may fit more compactly than modern Western sizing, particularly through the body length, shoulders and ribbed waistband.

Measurements worth comparing with a jacket you already own:

• Chest width, underarm to underarm
• Back length, collar seam to hem
• Raglan sleeve length, collar to cuff
• Hem width
• Upper-arm width
• Cuff opening

Styling Two Faces

The Marian face is highly detailed, symbolic and narrative in red, ivory and silver, suited to collector, tattoo, rock and statement styling: with faded selvedge denim, a white T-shirt and engineer or service boots, or with black denim, leather boots and silver rings. The quilted skull face is restrained in black and red, with a punk, rockabilly and biker atmosphere that pairs with cuffed jeans, creepers or combat boots and coordinates easily with daily streetwear. Hung with the embroidered sleeve extended, the Marian back reads like a textile mural, revealing the full sequence of Mary, praying hands, dragon, flames, skull and banners.

Authenticity & Care

The design is documented in the official Blood Message archive, and the original Blood Message branded presentation tag is shown with the jacket. Every piece is examined and documented in Japan before dispatch and is offered with the Japonista authenticity guarantee.

Delivery from Japan

Packed by hand in Japan and shipped insured and tracked by EMS or an equivalent express service. Import duties and taxes, where applicable, are payable on arrival. Returns follow our published policy.

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