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Vintage EVISU Yamane No.2 Daruma Daishi Hand-Painted Jeans Japanese Kanji Kamome Denim
Vintage EVISU Yamane No.2 Daruma Daishi Hand-Painted Jeans Japanese Kanji Kamome Denim
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Rare EVISU / Yamane No.2 • Daruma Bodhidharma Art • 達磨大師 • 七転び八起き • Double Kamome • Japanese Painted Denim • Dark Indigo • Button Fly • Archive Osaka Streetwear
Japanese Denim Turned Into a Moving Daruma Painting 👁️🔥🇯🇵
This is the kind of EVISU piece that stops being simply “a pair of jeans.”
From the front, it presents as beautifully restrained dark-indigo Japanese denim. Turn it around and an enormous Daruma / Bodhidharma composition erupts across the legs, combining traditional Japanese imagery, calligraphic panels, red-and-black graphic blocks and EVISU’s unmistakable Kamome pockets.
The dominant image occupies much of one leg: a monumental close-up of Daruma’s face and piercing eye, rendered in burnt orange, vermilion red, black and yellow against the untouched indigo denim.
Across the opposite leg appear Japanese inscriptions including:
達磨大師
Daruma Daishi / Great Master Daruma
and the celebrated expression:
七転び八起き
“Fall seven times, rise eight.”
It is difficult to imagine a motif better suited to denim. Daruma represents resilience, perseverance and determination, while raw indigo itself changes through use, movement and time.
The result is quintessentially Japanese wearable art.
Identification
Brand: EVISU / Yamane
Line / Denim Designation: No.2 marking visible on rear patch
Garment: Japanese graphic / painted denim jeans
Primary Motif: Daruma / Bodhidharma
Secondary Motifs: Kamome seagull marks, Japanese calligraphy and rectangular signboard-style graphics
Main Inscription: 達磨大師
Proverb: 七転び八起き
Color: Dark indigo / deep raw-looking blue
Artwork Palette: Vermilion red, burnt orange, black, yellow, cream and white
Rear Pockets: Twin pale-yellow / ivory EVISU Kamome motifs
Closure: Button fly
Waist Patch: EVISU No.2 leather-style rear patch
Style: Japanese denim / Amekaji / archive streetwear / Y2K Japanese fashion / wearable art
Era: Older Yamane-era / archive-style EVISU production
Exact Size: Please confirm from measurements before purchase; the photographed patch markings are partially worn and should not be relied upon alone.
The Daruma
The central visual subject is Daruma, the Japanese representation of Bodhidharma, the Buddhist monk traditionally associated with the transmission of Zen Buddhism to China.
But this is not rendered as a delicate temple illustration.
EVISU turns Daruma into something enormous, graphic and street-facing.
Only part of the face is shown.
One eye dominates the composition.
Heavy black lines carve the brow, nose and facial contours out of burnt orange and vermilion fields.
The extreme crop creates the impression that the figure continues beyond the boundaries of the denim itself.
It is much closer to Japanese poster art or hand-painted signage than ordinary fashion graphics.
達磨大師 — Daruma Daishi
The rectangular vermilion panel reads:
達磨大師
Daruma Daishi
Literally, this can be understood as Great Master Daruma, a respectful title referring to Bodhidharma.
The characters are deliberately bold and almost brush-like, surrounded by a painted rectangular border recalling old Japanese signboards, shrine inscriptions and traditional shop graphics.
The white-black lettering against the vermilion background produces a striking contrast with the indigo denim.
七転び八起き — Fall Seven Times, Rise Eight
Running vertically beside it is one of the most famous expressions associated with perseverance in Japanese culture:
七転び八起き
Nana korobi ya oki
Literally:
“Fall seven times, rise eight.”
It expresses persistence after repeated failure.
You get knocked down.
You stand again.
Then again.
And again.
That idea is inseparable from the symbolism of the Daruma doll, which is designed to right itself after being pushed over.
Placed alongside the enormous Daruma face, the proverb gives the artwork a narrative rather than functioning as decorative Japanese lettering.
The Daruma Eye
The eye is the visual center of the entire pair.
Daruma dolls traditionally use the eyes as symbols of goals and completion. A blank-eyed Daruma may be given one eye when a goal is established and the second when that goal is fulfilled.
Here, EVISU enlarges the eye dramatically.
Yellow, black and vermilion rings make it almost hypnotic.
Against the quiet field of indigo, it has extraordinary impact.
When the jeans are worn, the image changes shape as the leg moves, so the artwork never appears completely static.
Traditional Symbolism Meets Osaka Denim
This pair beautifully demonstrates the way Japanese denim can absorb imagery from older Japanese visual culture without becoming costume.
The underlying garment remains recognizable as classic five-pocket jeans:
button fly,
belt loops,
copper-tone rivets,
dark indigo denim,
contrast stitching,
traditional rear patch,
and standard rear pockets.
The artwork is then laid across that familiar structure like a second visual language.
Traditional symbolism meets modern street clothing.
Double Kamome Rear Pockets
Above the elaborate leg artwork sit two large EVISU Kamome marks.
Rather than overpowering the design, their pale cream / yellow coloration works almost like a signature.
The two Kamome marks sit symmetrically across the rear pockets while nearly everything below becomes asymmetrical.
That contrast is particularly effective.
The upper part reads as classic EVISU.
The lower part becomes Japanese graphic art.
Front View: Almost Undercover
One of the strongest things about this pair is the front-to-back transformation.
Viewed from the front, the jeans are remarkably restrained.
The dark indigo dominates.
Traditional five-pocket styling, button fly and contrast stitching maintain an almost heritage-denim appearance.
Only the artwork wrapping around the outer leg hints that something far more dramatic is occurring behind.
Turn around and the entire identity changes.
This makes the jeans much more wearable than a fully printed all-over design.
Rear View: Full Visual Impact
From behind, the composition develops vertically.
First:
twin Kamome pockets
Then:
enormous Daruma eye and face
Then:
calligraphic proverb panels
Then:
vermilion Daruma Daishi cartouche
The artwork therefore moves downward through several distinct graphic zones rather than relying on one centered logo.
It gives the jeans the visual rhythm of an old Japanese poster or painted banner.
Painted Denim as Wearable Art
Unlike ordinary embroidered jeans where thread sits raised above the fabric, this design appears to use substantial direct painted / printed-paint style artwork integrated into the denim surface.
That allows extremely broad graphic areas impossible to reproduce with conventional embroidery without making the garment excessively rigid.
The paint treatment also complements the denim beautifully.
As both the indigo and artwork age, small irregularities, creasing and surface variation become part of the piece.
Instead of remaining clinically perfect, the design develops character.
Indigo as the Background Canvas
The dark denim is essential to the success of the composition.
The indigo is deep enough to function almost like black in certain lighting, allowing the saturated red and orange graphics to leap forward.
The color combination is particularly strong:
indigo for depth,
black for outlines,
vermilion for impact,
burnt orange for the Daruma skin,
yellow for the eye and Kamome,
cream / white for typography.
There is very little wasted color.
Everything exists to strengthen the Daruma image.
No.2 EVISU Character
The rear waistband patch visibly carries a large handwritten-style:
No.2
EVISU’s numbered denim designations are part of the brand’s long-running language of fabric and construction variants, and the worn leather-style patch contributes considerably to the old-school character of this pair.
The patch itself already has natural aging and surface variation, which works perfectly with the archival personality of the denim.
Button-Fly Construction
The photographs show a traditional multi-button fly rather than a conventional zipper.
It is a small detail, but an important one.
Despite the flamboyant artwork, the underlying jeans retain the mechanics and visual vocabulary expected from heritage-inspired denim.
That juxtaposition is part of the appeal:
traditional construction underneath,
Japanese street art on top.
Daruma and the Philosophy of Aging Denim
There is an unusually appropriate connection between the motif and the material.
Daruma represents persistence.
Denim records persistence.
Every crease, fade and abrasion is the result of repeated movement.
Walking.
Sitting.
Working.
Living.
The garment physically documents continued use.
For that reason, 七転び八起き feels almost tailor-made for a pair of jeans.
The artwork speaks about endurance while the denim gradually demonstrates it.
Japanese Calligraphy as Graphic Design
The Japanese lettering is not simply informational.
It is a major visual element.
The vertical characters function architecturally, lengthening the appearance of the leg.
The bordered panels recall:
traditional shop signs,
woodblock typography,
festival placards,
temple notices,
painted banners,
and old Japanese advertising.
That gives the pair a much richer identity than Western-market “Japanese inspired” graphics that merely scatter kanji for decoration.
Here, the words and the subject belong together.
Color Blocking
The massive Daruma portrait uses a deliberately limited palette.
Rather than attempting photorealism, the artist reduces the face to broad blocks and powerful contours.
That gives the image almost a stencil-like or ukiyo-e-poster quality.
Large red fields near the hem anchor the composition.
Orange gives the face mass.
Black provides dramatic outlining.
Yellow creates the focal point inside the eye.
The effect remains readable even from a considerable distance.
Y2K Japanese Streetwear Energy
This piece sits naturally within the collector universe of:
Japanese archive fashion,
Y2K denim,
early streetwear,
Osaka style,
Amekaji,
designer denim,
tattoo-inspired fashion,
Japanese biker culture,
and graphic workwear.
It is visually bold without relying on modern oversized branding.
The artwork itself carries the identity.
Styling Possibilities
Because the jeans contain so much visual information, they work beautifully with relatively quiet upper garments.
Excellent pairings include:
plain heavyweight white T-shirt,
black sweatshirt,
navy knit,
simple work jacket,
plain MA-1,
black leather biker jacket,
minimal sukajan,
military field jacket,
engineer boots,
Converse-style sneakers,
or understated leather shoes.
For maximalist styling, they can also be paired with an embroidered Japanese jacket, but the Daruma should ideally remain the central visual event.
Condition
This is a pre-owned collectible EVISU denim garment.
From the photographs, the indigo retains strong depth and the painted graphic remains extremely prominent.
Expected vintage characteristics may include:
minor creasing,
subtle fading,
normal surface variation,
light rubbing,
paint irregularity or cracking,
small marks,
stitch wear,
hardware patina,
and natural aging to the rear patch.
These characteristics should be considered part of the history of the garment rather than the appearance of a modern factory-new product.
Please examine all photographs carefully.
Sizing & Measurements
The rear patch has aged and the size information is not sufficiently clear in the supplied photographs for us to treat it as an absolute modern-size reference.
For Japanese archive denim, actual measurements are significantly more useful than the historic tagged number.
Please compare measurements with a pair you already own.
Recommended points:
Waist laid flat
Front rise
Back rise
Thigh
Inseam
Outseam
Knee
Leg opening
Please message us if you would like additional sizing assistance.
Why Collect This Piece
A conventional EVISU jean can be recognizable from a single Kamome.
This pair gives you something considerably more elaborate:
Double Kamome rear pockets
Large-scale Daruma artwork
達磨大師 inscription
七転び八起き proverb
Traditional Japanese visual references
Dark indigo denim
No.2 rear patch
Button-fly construction
Exceptional front-to-back transformation
Rather than being another logo variation, it has a complete visual theme.
That matters considerably in an archive collection.
Display & Collection Value
Even unworn, these jeans display brilliantly.
Hung from the waistband with the reverse facing outward, they resemble a long-format Japanese textile artwork.
The Daruma portrait dominates first.
Then the viewer notices the eye.
Then the calligraphy.
Then the pale Kamome.
Then the construction of the denim itself.
It has multiple levels of visual discovery, which is one of the qualities that distinguishes genuinely collectible clothing from merely expensive clothing.
Purchase, Shipping & Vintage Policy
Please review all photographs carefully before purchasing, as they form an important part of the item's condition record.
This is a pre-owned vintage / collectible garment and is offered as-is. Natural age-related characteristics, minor wear, paint variation, fading, surface marks, stitching irregularities and other signs associated with previous ownership and storage may be present.
Vintage Japanese sizing may differ substantially from contemporary international sizing. Please compare actual garment measurements with a similar pair that fits you well.
Preparation, shipping and handling normally takes 5–10 business days or earlier.
Worldwide shipping is normally provided via EMS or another appropriate tracked international shipping service, depending upon destination and logistical requirements.
Tracking information will be supplied following dispatch.
Reasonable and respectful offers may be considered.
If you are looking for this design or model in another size, please feel free to message us. Although availability cannot be guaranteed, we may be able to locate the same or a closely matching piece in a different size through our sourcing network.
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Material Tags
cotton denim, indigo denim, painted textile, embroidery thread, leather style patch, metal buttons, metal rivets, cotton pocketing, contrast stitching
