Edwin was founded in Japan in 1947 by Mr. Tsunemi, who began by importing American denim since none was yet made domestically; the brand's name is a rearrangement of the letters in "denim." In 1961 Edwin introduced the first jeans made in Japan, and went on to pioneer techniques that reshaped the industry, including the One Wash and Old Wash finishes in the 1970s and stone-washing in the 1980s. Edwin remains one of Japan's pioneering denim brands, now distributed across Europe as well.