OSAKA (AFP) - Manchester United chose a samurai-era castle in the Japanese city of Osaka on Thursday to unveil their new away kit, with the gingham check from the city's industrial heritage intact.

The new shirt, featuring the gingham used on last season's home shirt with a bigger, bolder design, was introduced in the grounds of Osaka Castle in the presence of manager David Moyes and United players including home-town boy Shinji Kagawa.

United were to wear the shirt on Friday in an away friendly against the pink-clad J-League side Cerezo Osaka, the fourth game of their pre-season Asian tour.

"The shirt's large black and midnight navy gingham checks represent Manchester's proud industrial past when the check was produced in the city's booming cotton mills in the 18th century," United said in a statement.