Channel Star Wars’ samurai origins with these shirts

When he was creating Star Wars, George Lucas was inspired by the samurai movies of Akira Kurosawa. That is why it is not a surprise to see references to the old Japanase warriors in the famous space opera.

To pay homage to the ancient East Asian roots of Star Wars, here are some shirts from Pop Up Tee that you can check out.

Darth Vader

The samurai reference is strong in Darth Vader. His helmet alone is based on the kabuto or headgear of real-life warrior and leader Date Masamune. This Darth Samurai shirt accurately depicts the famous crescent-like horns of Masamune’s helmet, while portraying Darth Vader’s iconic pose in the biggest twist of the series.

This next design is another samurai reimagination of Darth Vader’s helmet, up close this time.

Meanwhile, this Dark Side of the Samurai v-neck shirt renders a whole body image of Darth Vader as a Japanese warrior.

Lastly, samurai warriors are proficient horseback riders. This Samurai Galaxy design puts Darth Vader on a horse. Though we have to admit: despite the name, this design looks more European than Japanese.

Stormtroopers

Stormtroopers are like ashigaru or foot soldiers of the samurai. This Samurai Empire design perfectly imagines how the warriors in white would have looked in that era. Not to mention the sashimono or banner bearing the Galactic Empire’s crest.

The Storm Samurai design is another simple rendition of the stormtrooper as a Japanese warrior, weilding a sword instead of their usual blaster.

Now if a stormtrooper was a samurai leader, this Saburau design is probably how they looked like.

To cap off the samurai stormtrooper ideas is this Samurai Trooper design. It does look cool, with the warrior on horseback under what seems to be snow. The only weird thing is that the sword looks like a Sith lightsaber. Unless red blades are a standard issue to stormtrooper in this imagined setting.

Mandalorian

Last but not the least is this samurai-inspired Mandalorian design. Could it be one of the Fetts? Or could it be the titular character of the Disney+ show? The shirt says bountry hunter in Japanese, so it could it be any Mandalorian. We’re not complaining though!