Dr. Martens Boots with Japanese Tattoo Sleeve Design, Koi Fish Motif, Size UK 8 / US 9 / 27 cm

$680.00 USD

Shipping calculated at checkout.

Dispatch: Prepared and sent from Tokyo within 7–14 days, often sooner, or as arranged
Arrival: United States · usually 4–7 days after dispatch, insured and tracked
Import: Duties and customs · View the estimate

A guide for this piece: about $68, based on the 10% US charge on the declared value of goods made in Japan.

The final figure is set by US Customs and depends on where the piece was made and the kind of object it is. Many antiques over a century old carry no ordinary duty; most jewellery and leather goods add a single-digit rate.

With EMS, any charge is collected by your postal service on delivery. For pieces of significant value we can often arrange duties prepaid before dispatch.
How the estimate is reached · Ask for a figure on this piece
Sizing: Japanese sizing in centimetres, checked by hand · Find your size · Ask before you buy
Replies: Within one Tokyo business day · Ask the curator team
Guarantee: Authenticity guaranteed · How we grade

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The koi, which in Japanese legend swims upstream to become a dragon, is one of the defining motifs of the tattoo sleeve. Here it wraps a pair of Dr. Martens boots, joining the punk staple to the visual language of irezumi, in UK 8 / US 9 / 27 cm.

The Piece

This pair of Dr. Martens boots carries a design modeled on a Japanese tattoo sleeve, with koi fish as its central motif, the kind of full-arm composition associated with yakuza-era irezumi. In Japanese tradition the carp that swims against the current and climbs the waterfall becomes a dragon, a symbol of perseverance and transformation, which is why it remains among the most requested images in tattooing.

Irezumi, the Japanese tradition of full-body tattooing, draws on woodblock-print heroes, dragons, carp and waves, and its imagery has long crossed into rockabilly, punk and street fashion.

Details

Maker: Dr. Martens
Design: Japanese tattoo sleeve design with koi fish
Size: UK 8 · US 9 · 27 cm

Condition

Please judge wear from the photographs.

Authenticity & Care

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. Every sale is final; please ask anything you wish to know before you buy, and see our published policy.

Japanese shoe sizes are given in centimetres of foot length, checked here by hand, and makers differ by half a size or more. Compare with a pair you already wear from the same maker and allow a little margin, the quiet safeguard on a final sale. Our shoe size conversion chart sets Japan beside US, UK, EU and Korean sizes, and for anything it leaves open the curator team replies within one Tokyo business day.

Considered offers are welcome through Send an Offer, and each one is reviewed personally.

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