papier mache jingasa?

[Birdman]

I have heard of jingasa made of lacquered papier mache, and even seen some for sale on Ebay that from the description might have been made from it. What I am wondering is, were these actually issued to ashigaru as combat helmets, or were they more like a sun-shade for "off duty" samurai?

[IanB]

Rich, Unfortunately, the term jingasa is used for what are essentially two types of headgear. During the Sengoku period, ashigaru needed arming and the simplest and cheapest form of helmet that could be devised was a conical hat of iron plates or lacquered rawhide. By the Edo period, these helmets had become transformed into lacquered hats for wear when travelling. In the vast majority of cases the fairly steep conical shape of the ashigaru type became flattened into the very shallow form of most Edo period Jingasa. Those of higher rank adopted what I call the bowler hat type whilst others had them made in wacky shapes and designs - just to be different. Almost all of these later jingasa are essentially of multiple layers of paper, formed in a mould and lacquered. You do occasionally find them in iron when they obviously retained a defensive function, but the vast majority are as you say sun shades. By the end of the Edo period, and I suspect mainly in the Meiji period, a number of iron jingasa were made that were embossed or heavily decorated with gold and silver overlay, but its my belief they were for the tourist trade since most are not really finished inside, just given a nominal coat of black lacquer. They are all jingasa but their functions were very different.

Ian Bottomley

[Birdman]

Arigato gozaimasu!

[Guido]

Those of higher rank adopted what I call the bowler hat type ...

IIRC, that type is called Bajô-jingasa (horseback Jingasa) or Shingen-jingasa (named after Takeda Shingen); the flat type is usually called Ichimonji-jingasa or Hira-jingasa.

 

Ian, are you aware of any real connection to Takeda Shingen, or is that name as misleading as the so called "Shingen Tsuba"?

[IanB]

Guido, No, I have no information at all about Takeda Shingen using that type. In fact, he was long dead before jingasa worn for travelling seems to have been developed. I understand the term bajo-jingasa, some of which have a kamon under the front brim since if you were standing and looking upwards you would see it. If you examine prints of daimyo gyoretsu, the guys riding horses generally wear this type while the ichimonji style was seems to have been worn by the lower ranks on foot. This is also born out by the numbers of surviving jingasa. You see 10 ichimonji style for every bajo jingasa. Just who worn the odd-ball types I am not sure. I have one based on a farmer's hat, made of iron plates and very high quality. I also have one that is similar to a bajo jingasa except that the front brim and crown copies a European morion but at the back it is more conventional. It isn't the best quality but interesting.

Ian Bottomley

[Birdman]

So, if I want to buy an original ashigaru jingasa, I need to avoid anything that isn't conical and made of iron or is iron but is too flashy and obviously not meant to be worn. Got it!

 

Now, what would have been more common for an ashigaru of the sengoku period: a conical iron jingasa, or a plate-and-chain tatami kabuto?

[IanB]

Rich, Without a doubt a conical jingasa. Real ashigaru ones are either 6 or 8 iron plates or a piece of rawhide bent round and sewn up the seam. Mail and plate zukin are made for tatami gusoku.

Ian

[kusunokimasahige]

If you would like to buy an original Ashigaru armour you could indeed go with a plain iron jingasa :

 

 

And tatami dou or plain dou with or without normal sode. Often the Kamon would have been p ainted on the front of the jingasa, like the swastika mon of Tsugaru Nobuhira and his troops : "Warriors of Medieval Japan (Turnbull) page 78"

 

Or if you would want really fancy stuff, which is probably nowhere for sale, you could try the ashigaru outfit of the Masamune clan during the Imjin war...

 

"Samurai Warfare, (Turnbull) page 110"

 

The plain iron jingasa would be best, either with or without Kamon.

 

Other examples of ashigaru in correct period clothing :

 

 

 

 

KM

[Mark Green]

Here is one of mine, that I feel may have been used as a firemans helmet.

It is made of wood, I believe, and has an alloy rim, and vervailes, added for some kind of fabric or mail, neck and shoulder cover. I have used it for years in SCA use.

[estcrh]

Here is one of mine, that I feel may have been used as a firemans helmet.

It is made of wood, I believe,

Mark, lacquered leather sounds a lot like wood, I have some jingasa of the same type and some armor pieces as well and I am fairly certain that it is leather or more accurately rawhide "nerigawa" that they are made from.

[Mark Green]

It could be I supposes.

I have made a great deal of Armor from Buffalo Rawhide. Samurai, and European.

Here is a Rawhide Jingasa I made years ago from rawhide, and cashew lacquer

I used a wood hoop for a base. But found later you could remove the hoop, once the lacquer cured. I made a few. They held up very well to the weather, of all kinds.

[estcrh]

It could be I supposes.

I have made a great deal of Armor from Buffalo Rawhide. Samurai, and European.

Here is a Rawhide Jingasa I made years ago from rawhide, and cashew lacquer

I used a wood hoop for a base. But found later you could remove the hoop, once the lacquer cured. I made a few. They held up very well to the weather, of all kinds.

Great looking work mark, it looks a lot like an antique leather jingasa that I have. Here is a link to a few different kinds.

http://s831.photobucket.com/albums/zz23 ... ?start=all