Yohei Fukuda and Marquess/Shoji Kawaguchi are two of the most well renowned bespoke shoemakers in Japan (and in the world, for that matter), who have a lot of similarities between them. Here’s a nerdy but hopefully interesting comparison between them and their versions of a faux full brogue.

The pair from Yohei Fukuda are mine, and the Marquess pair belongs to Stefan Ravnanger who works at Skomaker Dagestad in Oslo. We often see these close-ups etc on new shoes, not that often on used ones, which in my opinion adds an extra dimension (after all this is how the shoes look IRL, they are only new once). Yohei and Shoji They both have trained in England, they have a thing for English shoes from the first half of the 1900’s, and they have a very high quality in the making. They are also good friends.

Stefan and I have very similar feet (mine are just a tiny bit wider and shorter) which makes the comparison more relevant. Both are faux full brogues, both chiseled toes, my Yohei Fukuda’s in a burgundy aniline calf (don’t remember if it’s vintage Ilcea or Zonta, we were discussing both), the Marquess’ are in dark brown vintage Freudenberg calf. Of course some has do with our different feet and the specifications, and they can do stuff very differently from here, but overall both Stefan and I have used the house style specs, so to speak. Below some thoughts, facts and some very subjective comments.