Japanese jeans are in a league of their own. When it comes to making Japanese jeans, every little detail is carefully considered, from lining the inseam to roomy belt loops. However, which Japanese jean brands should you invest in and how can you buy them? Here are our Top 10 Japanese denim jeans with links (click the photos or brand names) so you can shop them right from Japan.

10. Momotaro Jeans - made by hand

The name Momotaro comes from one of the most famous Japanese folktales. The legend has it that a small boy who was born from a giant peach descended to Earth to be the son of an elderly couple. Momotaro helps rejuvenate the elderly couple by helping them follow their dreams.

Momotaro Jeans started as part of the Japan Blue Jeans Company in 2005. Momotaro's mission is to produce the highest quality and longest lasting raw denim jeans worldwide. Therefore, Momotaro uses only the best quality cotton and indigo for their jeans ensuring that every pair will last for years and get better with wear. For this reason, Momotaro jeans have become one of the biggest brands in the jean industry. 

9. Iron Heart

Iron Heart was established by Shinichi Haraki an ex-pattern maker for Edwin Jeans. Due to his experience, he decided to create his own Japanese clothing brand, aimed at the Japanese motorcycling community. Iron Heart jeans are notorious for their heavyweight fabrics, designed to be durable and fashionable at the same time. Although Iron Heart was created with bikers in mind, they have also started to adventure in other directions too. 

8. The Flat Head

The Flat Head produces some of the highest-quality jeans with extraordinary levels of detail. They are most known among jean lovers for vertical fading. Their jeans start out being quite dark, but the colour starts to fade over time, due to their cotton being dipped significantly more than other brands in the business.

7. Samurai Jeans

"Without a perfect match between the jeans and the maker, the jeans are worthless."

Samurai Jeans have been working hard for the last 15 years to merge both quality and rarity into their unique raw denim jeans. Like ZenMarket, Samurai Jeans are Osaka, Japan-based.  Samurai Jeans are considered to be a latecomer to the Japanese jean market, however, now they are one of the most famous and recognizable in Japan. Samurai Jeans started out by using medium weight fabrics for their first set of exclusive one hundred pairs. Over time, Samurai Jeans started to venture out into developing their own original fabrics with texture and ageing properties. Due to their ventures and trying new things, Samurai Jeans have established a unique identity of combining American Casual jeans with a Japanese edge.

6. Pure Blue Jeans

If you're looking for denim full of character, then look no further than Pure Blue Japan. Pure Blue Japan has experimented in almost every direction creating experimental and revolutionary denim jeans. Their jeans range from traditional to modern, and their indigo covers almost every shade of the rainbow. Their jeans are truly one of the rarest in the world.

5. Studio D'artisan (SDA)

Studio D'artisan was one of the first comers in the Japanese denim scene and have been producing high-quality Selvedge denim since 1979. They're constantly experimenting with their denim to bring you the highest quality. Although Studio D'Artisan was founded in Osaka, their production all takes place in Okayama prefecture, famous for traditional indigo dyeing and weaving methods.

4. Oni Denim

"When the first Oni denim jean was produced the extremely uneven and slubby texture was unlike any other. The denim was so slubby like the Devil!... and so the name "ONI DENIM" was born."

Oni as you probably guessed it means the Devil/Demon in Japanese. The company is quite mysterious and is run by an 80-year-old master weaver, Oishi-san. Only Mr Oishi can operate the old shuttle loom that makes Oni's jeans, thus making Oni Jeans very limited. How can you get your hands on these extra rare jeans? The answer is through ZenMarket.

3. Japan Blue Jeans

"Creating the best jeans equals creating the best material."

As their slogan states, Japan Blue spend most of their time creating the highest quality of jeans. They start by selecting the very best cotton, spinning the cotton, dying the yarn and weaving the fabric.  With that fabric, they produce 3 types of jeans - slim tapered, tight straight and skinny. They also have jeans with five pockets.

2. Burgus plus

Burgus Plus use produce revolutionary jeans at affordable prices. At these prices, you may be worried about the quality and wear of the jeans. However, we would like to reassure you that Burgus only provide the best possible quality combining modern styles with vintage production. Due to these reasons, Burgus Plus is an internationally renowned Japanese denim brand among denim lovers.

1.  Evisu

Evisu was also founded in Osaka, Japan in the early nineties and bears the name "Evisu" from the name of the Japanese God of prosperity "Ebisu." Evisu captured the Japanese with their details which sparked renewed interest in vintage denim that spread across Japan and the world. Today, Evisu is possibly one of the most recognisable Japanese denim makers.

If we didn't mention your favourite Japanese denim brand, don't worry you can buy almost any Japanese brand through ZenMarket. If you need any help finding anything, please don't hesitate to contact us via our contact form here.