The fine people at 70six inform us that Hiragino Kaku Gothic is the Helvetica of Japan. I’ll have to take their word for it though. Hell, most of the Japanese language and culture that I know comes from anime.

I know, I know… Baka gaijin.

So even though I couldn’t tell you what the shirt actually says, it still looks really cool. I’ll probably get a smack on the back of the hand from Hanzi Smatter for saying that, but fuck it.

Update: Speaking of Hanzi Smatter, Tian had this to say:

I would like to confirm that the Japanese Katakana on the t-shirt says “Hiragino Kaku Shitusku” with translates as “Hiragino Kaku Gothic”. It is a very basic Japanese font.

So now you know… And knowing is half the battle.

Update 2: For the definitive translation we go to Chudo from 70six:

The shirt says “Hiragino Kaku Goshikku,” so Tian was almost there; he missed the “go” and read the small “tsu” as a full-sized one. (Small tsus are silent “sokuons” which are glottal stops, kind of like hiccups.) Probably more than you wanted to know.

He should know seeing as how he designed the shirt and all. Thanks to everyone who sent in that little clarification.

$17.00 | Credit | URL