Jackman is a Japanese sportswear and knitwear brand founded in 1949 in Fukui, Japan by Mitsugu Tanabe — a baseball enthusiast who left his job to start a small manufacturing operation with three knitting machines and a passion for American sporting clothing. Over 75 years, Jackman has developed into one of Japan’s most respected factory brands for heavyweight cotton knitwear, using proprietary heavyweight jersey fabrics, meticulous construction techniques, and a design vocabulary rooted in the classic American sportswear of the mid-20th century: baseball uniforms, varsity sweatshirts, athletic T-shirts, and the casual sportswear of an era before synthetic fabrics dominated the market.
Key Facts
- Founded: 1949
- Founder: Mitsugu Tanabe
- Headquarters: Fukui, Japan
- Industry: Japanese Sportswear, Heritage Knitwear
History and Craft
Tanabe began with three knitting machines and over the following decades developed his own machinery and knitting techniques to produce the heavyweight cotton fabrics that define Jackman’s identity. The brand has operated as a factory brand — a manufacturer that produces under its own name — for its entire history, which means every technical decision about fabric weight, construction, and finish is made in-house rather than outsourced to external mills. Jackman uses dense knit structures and heavyweight cotton that offers structure and breathability simultaneously, producing garments that improve with age rather than degrading with wear.
Product Range
Jackman’s core range includes heavyweight jersey T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, and baseball-inspired knit tops — all made in Japan on vintage knitting machines to exceptional standards of construction. The brand is particularly known for its baseball-influenced designs: ribbed sleeve bands, crew necks, raglan constructions, and the solid, weighty fabric feel of a mid-century American baseball jersey. Everything is made in Japan. Stocked internationally by The Sporting Lodge (UK), Standard & Strange, and specialist Japanese and international heritage retailers.
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