龍 — Ryū. Dragon. The traditional form — sixteen strokes, older and heavier than the simplified 竜 you'll see in everyday print.

What it means

The East Asian dragon is not the Western one. No hoarded gold, no fire, nothing to slay. 龍 is a water spirit — rivers, rainfall, storms — and a symbol of wisdom and rightful power. In China it marked the emperor; in Japan it guards temple gates and ceilings, painted where people look up.

The character itself

龍 is one of the most visually complex kanji in common artistic use, which is why it survives in calligraphy, tattoo work, and textile printing long after 竜 replaced it in newspapers. Written large, it reads as an image as much as a word — dense, coiled, deliberate.

Why we print it

The Kanji Dragon line is the original Obrava sub-cultural line — distressed washes, gritty energy, heavyweight cotton. 龍 earns its place on it: an old character, worn rough.

The garments

• Kanji Dragon Sunfade Tee — hand-scrunched, no two alike.
• Kanji Dragon Cropped Tank — 280GSM, front-placed dragon script.
• Kanji Longevity Tee — the line's heaviest cut.

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