YEN TOWN MARKET Is Bringing a ‘Samurai Champloo' 20th Anniversary Pop-Up to Seoul
Summary
Seoul is set to celebrate the 20th anniversary ofSamurai Champloowith a special pop-up event. This marks the first time such an event dedicated toShinichirō Watanabe's cult-fave anime will be held in South Korea.
Limited-edition apparel, accessories and merch will be available at the pop-up. This includes sweaters, long and short-sleeve tees featuring brand-new anniversaryNujabesandSamurai Champloographics.
A significant highlight of the pop-up will be the limited re-release of the highly sought-afterrecord box set. This collector's item was initially launched exclusively in Japan and quickly sold out upon its original release. The set includes six 7-inch vinyl records featuring opening themes and in-show tracks composed by Nujabes. Each record sleeve boasts a unique design adorned with memorable scenes from the anime, including its iconic opening sequence.
TheSamurai Champloo20th Anniversary pop-up will take place over the coming weekend from May 31 – June 1 in Hannam-dong, one of Seoul's most vibrant shopping districts.
Samurai Champloo 20th Anniversary – YEN TOWN MARKET POPUP in SEOUL1F, 10 Hannam-daero27-ga, Yongsan-gu, SeoulSouth Korea
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Hypebeast
28-05-2025
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YEN TOWN MARKET Is Bringing a ‘Samurai Champloo' 20th Anniversary Pop-Up to Seoul
Summary Seoul is set to celebrate the 20th anniversary ofSamurai Champloowith a special pop-up event. This marks the first time such an event dedicated toShinichirō Watanabe's cult-fave anime will be held in South Korea. Limited-edition apparel, accessories and merch will be available at the pop-up. This includes sweaters, long and short-sleeve tees featuring brand-new anniversaryNujabesandSamurai Champloographics. A significant highlight of the pop-up will be the limited re-release of the highly sought-afterrecord box set. This collector's item was initially launched exclusively in Japan and quickly sold out upon its original release. The set includes six 7-inch vinyl records featuring opening themes and in-show tracks composed by Nujabes. Each record sleeve boasts a unique design adorned with memorable scenes from the anime, including its iconic opening sequence. TheSamurai Champloo20th Anniversary pop-up will take place over the coming weekend from May 31 – June 1 in Hannam-dong, one of Seoul's most vibrant shopping districts. Samurai Champloo 20th Anniversary – YEN TOWN MARKET POPUP in SEOUL1F, 10 Hannam-daero27-ga, Yongsan-gu, SeoulSouth Korea
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Japanese soccer players forming connections with L.A.'s Japanese American community
Angel City forward Jun Endo, center, celebrates during a match against NJ/NY Gotham in March 2023. Endo, who is Japanese, is among the most popular players on the team. (Kyusung Gong / Associated Press) Growing up Japanese American in Southern California, Saki Watanabe had plenty of role models who showed her she could be whatever she wanted to be. There were baseball players, judges, politicians and actors. Writers, artists, teachers and business leaders. But there was nobody doing what she wanted to do, which was play soccer. Advertisement 'I did wish there were other players like me,' said Watanabe, a former college player who now works for Angel City's community team and coaches with the Los Angeles Bulls soccer club. 'I didn't have a player that I looked up to.' Or, more to the point, one that looked like her. So the message she took away was there was no place in soccer for Japanese girls. That's no longer the case. 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Growing up Japanese American in Southern California, Saki Watanabe had plenty of role models who showed her she could be whatever she wanted to be. There were baseball players, judges, politicians and actors. Writers, artists, teachers and business leaders. But there was nobody doing what she wanted to do, which was play soccer. 'I did wish there were other players like me,' said Watanabe, a former college player who now works for Angel City's community team and coaches with the Los Angeles Bulls soccer club. 'I didn't have a player that I looked up to.' Or, more to the point, one that looked like her. So the message she took away was there was no place in soccer for Japanese girls. That's no longer the case. When Angel City entered the NWSL in 2022, Jun Endo, a Japanese international, was in the starting lineup for the team's first league game and scored the second NWSL goal in franchise history. Angel City now has three Japanese players on its roster, most in the league, while the Galaxy won the MLS Cup last winter with two Japanese playing key roles. 'That's a really cool thing that's happening,' said Thomas Honda as his young daughter, clad in an oversized Galaxy jersey, excitedly asked defenders Miki Yamane and Maya Yoshida for autographs after a preseason game earlier this year. The girls' grandmother, standing nearby, chatted the men up in Japanese. 'I really hope that one day she kind of runs with it and it's like 'hey I could be like them',' continued Honda, the Galaxy's finance director. 'For my daughter that's even more relatable, having the Japanese representation.' And the importance of that example is not lost on the players. As the Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani has taken the profile of Japanese athletes to dizzying heights in Southern California, that's created an opening for soccer players to stand up and stand out as well. 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