Hirano, Olympic Fashion Icon, Brings Life to Japan's Culture and Art
February 28 2022
Ayumu Hirano, recently crowned Olympic men's snowboard halfpipe champion, showed that he values his Japanese heritage and culture by wearing a tenugui around his neck as he soared to gold in the men's snowboard halfpipe final at Beijing Games.
The 23-year old gold medalist was obviously in the global media spotlight, and his observant local supporters spotted the white cotton cloth that he wore in Friday's final. They praised his patriotic spirit and started an internet shopping frenzy which resulted in the item selling quickly.
Ayumu Hirano was recently crowned Olympic men's snowboard halfpipe champion.
The tenugui he wore, designed with kanji characters spelling out "ukiyo" (floating world), was designed by Ryo Aizawa, a fellow pro snowboarder who has branched out as an entrepreneur and found his tenugui products suddenly becoming one of the hottest topics in Olympic fashion.
Aizawa stated that he has received a lot of requests for restocking from snowboarding enthusiasts who want one.
"I expect a restock by March 1. I'm told they're being scalped, so I'm trying my best to restock as soon as I can," Aizawa said to Kyodo News.
"The brand exposure has received an amazing response. It was amazing to see a Japanese Olympic athlete use a tenugui for a face mask and compete on the Olympic stage. Ayumu was a true samurai, he stated.
Aizawa, 22 years old, competes internationally and has big-name sponsors. He is responsible for Hirano's current status as a fashion icon. According to him, the pair first met at a Yamanashi Prefecture ski resort in 2020.
Hirano received the tenugui Aizawa was wearing after Hirano, a two-time Winter Olympic silver medalist, complimented him on his chic head accessory during a training camp in Switzerland.
Aizawa founded Ukiyo, a brand of tenuguis, in October last year. His business was taken by surprise. He is taking advantage of the situation and spreading the brand's message to young people.
"The word ukiyo means 'transient'. I wanted the brand name to convey the message of 'live free'. I believe that snowboarding is an act of self-expression, which is also an art form. Aizawa stated that it is similar to snowboarding to pass down an artifact that represents Japanese culture.
Tenugui literally means "hand wipe", but multipurpose towels can be used for drying, cleaning, and wrapping. These towels are great souvenirs and are often used in Japanese homes and public bathrooms.
Japan even has a Tenugui Day, a March 21 'holiday' that was created in 2016 to commemorate the centuries-old traditional craft.
Although prices for tenugui vary depending on the size and design of the item, the price Hirano set is about $33.
Hirano was interviewed about his tenugui by a local TV station the day after becoming an Olympic gold medalist. He said that his friend, a snowboarder, owns the brand. He also mentioned that he uses the tenugui in the snow parks because they are "cool."
Hirano doesn't tie a tenugui around his neck to replace a scarf or neck warmer. Instead, he uses his tenugui as either a face mask or head wrap over his trademarked dreadlocks.
Many internet users rushed to the comments sections to send Hirano congratulations for his gold-medal-winning feat, while others shared their unique methods of using tenugui and how it has made their lives easier.
The past has proven that this style is always in fashion. Hirano inspires the masses with his groundbreaking snowboarding and adds a Japanese cultural touch to his Gen Z sportswear.
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