Rui Hachimura's Air Jordan 34 "Heritage" PE Salutes His Japanese-African Roots
With half Japanese, half African details inspired by Hachimura’s bespoke draft night suit.
Jordan Brand is nodding to Rui Hachimura‘s diverse cultural heritage — and bespoke NBA Draft night suit — with a new Air Jordan 34 “Heritage” PE. A rookie forward with the Washington Wizards, Hachimura is the youngest member of the Jordan Brand family and the first-ever Japanese-born player to be selected in the first round of the draft, so his new PEs salute Japan on the right foot and the African nation of Benin on the left foot.
Jordan Brand
Jordan Brand
Jordan Brand
Jordan Brand
Jordan Brand
Jordan Brand
On the right shoe, a pink and light blue print features joyful cherry blossoms juxtaposed with billowing clouds, inspired by Hachimura’s Japanese mother Makiko. The right shoe uses a bright, vibrant mix of patterns and colors drawn from Benin, the birthplace of Hachimura’s father Zakari Jabil. This split style is a direct nod to Hachimura’s half-and-half lined NBA Draft suit.
Both of these details are replicated on their respective foot’s outsoles, and the rest of each foot is dressed in a crisp mix of white and black, completed with a kanji-style graphic on tongues and insoles alike plus Nike Air hits on the heel. From a performance standpoint, engineered mesh uppers and a Zoom Air-bolstered Eclipse Plate offers a responsive, supportive feel. The “Heritage” also comes packaged in a special box.
“Japan has its own culture, colors, materials and prints, and so does Africa,” says Hachimura. “The right shoe has unique characters, and the upper material feels like Japanese paper or washi. The logo was created by my mom. The left shoe has colors and prints inspired by Benin, which are bright, loud and composed.”
Following in the footsteps of Zion Williamson‘s Air Jordan 34 “Noah” PE and Jayson Tatum‘s Air Jordan 34 “Zoo” PE, Hachimura’s story-rich Air Jordan 34 “Heritage” PE will release exclusively via Nike’s Japanese channels on August 8. The MSRP is set at $195 USD.
This is Hachimura’s second recent signature item, following his new G-SHOCK timepiece.
