A Salesman's Frustration
The story begins in 1954 with Joichi Fukushima, an insurance salesman from Osaka. He had grown up admiring the bespoke suits his father wore, an elegant man with a deep love of fine clothing. But custom tailoring was expensive, and ready-to-wear of comparable quality simply didn't exist. Fukushima decided to build it himself: ready-to-wear with the soul of a bespoke garment.
His first attempt was to outsource production, and it failed. The factories he hired valued efficiency over finish, and the results fell short of his standards. So he did the harder thing and built his own workshop, staffed with expertly trained Japanese tailors. The company's home became a factory in Kaizuka City, Osaka, operating since 1957, and a second facility opened in Kuzumi, Oita, in 1990.
In its early years, Ring Jacket made suits in the American Ivy tradition then fashionable in Japan. When Italian tailoring swept the 1980s, the house moved with it: still soft-shouldered, but with wider lapels and rounder, more fluid silhouettes. For most of its history Ring Jacket worked as a private-label manufacturer for top Japanese labels and retailers. International recognition arrived late, helped along by The Armoury, the retailer widely credited with introducing the brand beyond Japan, which still sells exclusive "AMJ" models made by Ring Jacket.
