Jingasa

Jingasa

By: Ian Bottomley

Jingasa are items that I have always never really understood. Over the years I have owned a few, and still have some, but I never really found out much about them. What did the different shapes signify? Why were they worn and when? When were they first used ? These are all questions I have never really obtained answers to. Recently I was loaned copies of the ‘Daruma’ magazine in which there are a series of articles on jingasa by Akemi Masaharu that gives some more detail ( issues No 27, 36, 42, 47 and 57). Using that information, as well as my own thoughts on the subject has led me to write these few words on the subject.

It is generally acknowledged that jingasa originated as a form of helmet made for lower ranking troops during the Sengoku Jidai. Exactly when they were first made is debatable. Early foot soldiers, ashigaru, were only poorly equipped by their commanders, relying on battlefield loot as their source of equipment and their incentive for fighting. It took a big shift in attitude by the military class to recognise that these commoners could really make the difference between winning and loosing a battle. This became especially true when commanders began to issue them with guns and used them tactically. Akemi Masaharu points out that hats of some form were depicted in Gosan’nen no Eki Kotoba being worn by retainers during the early 11th century. These were not jingasa but simple rain hats of rushes. Akemi then goes on to say that jingasa appear in the 15th century without quoting any sources for this date. In my opinion this is too early because the idea of ashigaru being a valuable resource that justified being issued with decent equipment is a later concept. I suspect a date nearer to 1560, or 1575, the date of the battle of Nagashino, when common soldiers were organised into units that took orders from an officer would be more likely. The book Zobyo Monogatari brought out in the early 17th century describes the adventures of these common soldiers during the Sengoku era. In it are illustrations showing them wearing simple armours, okashi gusoku, provided by their lord; each set normally comprising a jingasa, a dō, a pair of kote and a pair of suneate. It was not only gunners who were so armed, but the various units of spearmen and archers as well.

The characters used for the term jingasa are 陣笠; the first kanji meaning ‘battle array’, ‘ranks’ or ‘military encampment’, the second meaning a hat. In other words the meaning is ‘battle hat’. Ashigaru jingasa are almost always conical and, because they had a defensive function, were made either of iron or rawhide, nerigawa. The former type is usually made of about eight triangular plates riveted together with sometimes a small circular plate riveted to the apex. Around the lower edge some have the plates bent outwards to form a small flange. A few are made with protruding rivet heads, but most have the rivets countersunk. They were originally lacquered, mostly in black, with added identifiers in gold, but also in other colours. These identifiers could be the lord’s kamon, stripes or an ai-jirushi 合印; this latter term means literally ‘a companionship symbol’ or in other words a unit identifier. In most armies the different units would wear differently marked jingasa so that they could be identified at a distance. 

Rawhide jingasa are simply made by cutting out a curved shape, bending it into a cone and sewing up the seam. Again, they were lacquered like those made of metal. They should not be regarded as being cheap, although they were considerably less expensive than a conventional helmet. Dr. Galeno had a rawhide one with the kamon of Oda Nobunaga that was coated in gold lacquer. To equip all of a unit with gold lacquered jingasa, must have involved quite an outlay. From the practical point of view, these okashi gusoku were made with longevity in mind. There was no internal lining, the sleeves were sewn onto coarse hemp and the lacing was hemp as well. With reasonable care they would last for decades. 

Internally the metal jingasa have four metal loops riveted inside, two on each side of the head, to which were fastened a pad and loops that hung down over each ear that had ties attached. Some rawhide jingasa also had metal loops but most has loops of leather tied through holes or sewn in place before lacquering. In the Zobyo Monogatari, the jingasa are almost invariably shown being worn with a short fabric curtain hanging around the sides and back. Since no jingasa of this type I have seen had any way of attaching such a piece of cloth, it must have been fastened to the lining pad.

Towards the end of the 16th century Toyotomi Hideyoshi effectively disarmed the non-samurai and the days of the ashigaru just about ended. Although fighting continued for another 30 years or so on and off, individual daimyo armies combined and the role of the peasant warrior was taken over by low ranking samurai. These low ranking soldiers would continue to wear their jingasa and okashi gusoku, but I doubt if much new armour of this type was made. Under the enforced peace of the Tokugawa, armour would only be worn on occasions and provided it was re-furbished from time to time would last a considerable time. About the only time armour would be worn by the samurai was at festivals and during the gyoretsu when the daimyo would march to and from Edo, putting on the most lavish show they could afford. It was for these occasions that new types of jingasa were produced. Exactly when these made their appearance is not known exactly, but it seems to have been much later than might be expected. Akemi Masaharu states that the introduction of the various types of Edo period jingasa occurred in the late 18th century. He also adds that prior to this date they wore the usual rounded hats, like those worn by farmers as protection from bad weather, made from rushes or bamboo. 

Three major types of jingasa emerge at this period. Most common are the various round jingasa that are basically flat with just a small raised central part. Akemi Masaharu calls this type ichimonji gasa (‘straight-line hats’), hira gasa (‘flat hats’) or nuri gasa (‘lacquered hats’). The vast majority of these are made in what Akemi Masaharu calls the ‘dry lacquer technique’. This would involve gluing layers of cloth and / or paper together into a wooden mould, perhaps with some thin wood or bamboo strips as reinforcement, until a sufficient thickness was obtained, then lacquering. An alternative was to make them from coiled twisted paper strings, with each turn sewn to the next with another string. When lacquered, the whole structure was stiffened sufficiently to hold its shape. In both cases the result is a lightweight basic shape that could be individualised with decorations in lacquer. Not all of these are made in this way. There are plenty made of iron in this and other shapes, but they must have been heavy to wear.

Most ichimonji jingasa are black lacquered on top with the owner’s, or his lord’s, kamon in gold on the front. Some have a soft-metal kanamono resembling a tehen kanamono in style and construction, but usually without a hole through the centre. Others may also have a ring at the back, like a kasa jirushi no kan, that carried an agemaki bow. Internally most are lacquered red with leather loops incorporated into the structure for the attachment of the fittings. Like the ashigaru jingasa, these hats had some form of pad that sits on the head. Some pads are square, others take the form of two sausage shapes, running fore and aft, sewn in side by side. This latter type allowed the wearer’s queue to sit between them. I have also seen pads of a doughnut shape or even a metal ring covered with cloth. On either side of the pad, and attached to the same leather fastening points, are loops of cloth, generally padded, that hang below the wearer’s ears. At the rear the two loops are linked by a narrow fabric strip that rests in the nape of the wearer’s neck whilst there are cloth straps to tie around the chin attached to the front. 

Mention must be made here to the considerable number of russet iron jingasa of more or less flat shape decorated with embossing. I have seen a few of these and I am convinced the ones I have handled are not all that old. In every example I have seen the underside, although provided with four riveted iron loops, is simply finished with a coat of black lacquer. Had they been made for high ranking samurai, as the notion of embossing suggests, the inside would be filled smooth and lacquered properly in red or gold. In my view these were Meiji period items, made by redundant armourers for sale to Western tourists.

The second major type of Edo period jingasa has a rounded crown that flares out into a narrow brim that turns up at the front. The shape is similar to a bowler hat with an upturned brim at the front. Akemi Masaharu calls this type zunari jingasa, manju jingasa, bajo jingasa, koshin jingasa; names that indicate they are fitted to the shape of the head and were worn by horsemen. This style seems to have been introduced much later than the flat variety. A genre screen of 1772 shows flat jingasa being worn but not bajo jingasa despite the fact that the scene includes riders. A Kitagawa Morisada wrote in Morisada Manko, originally published in 1853 that this shape was first used in 1863 (this is obviously a mistake since it antedates publication and is probably a typo for 1843 or 1853). Pictures of the shogun’s forces in the 1850’s show this shape of jingasa being worn by the higher ranks. It would seem that it was considered as being more useful than the flat variety when riding, being less likely to be blown back by the wind. 

Like flat jingasa, bajo jingasa are almost invariably made by the dry lacquer technique although metal ones do exist. In addition to the internal fittings for the pads and fastening loops, many have a row of metal eyelets fitted under the brim designed to take a fabric hood. These hoods were of cloth and were provided with holes along the upper edge that fitted over the eyelets, being held in place by a cord threaded through the eyelets. The hood would normally spread out over the shoulders and could be fastened to cover the face all but for the eyes. No doubt these hoods were attached during bad weather. The usual decoration for these jingasa was a kamon on the front with often, gold bands running from the apex to the brim dividing the upper surface into four parts. Like the flat variety, they are sometimes fitted with a tehen kanamono and / or a kasa jirushi no kan. According to Akemi Masaharu the lacquer colour on the underside was an indication of rank. Lower ranks wore jingasa lacquered in red underneath, those of higher rank might have red lacquer with scattered gold flakes whilst daimyo had gold lacquer. One point noted by the author is that sometimes, these jingasa had a kamon on the underside of the brim in front; visible to those looking upwards at the wearer when on horseback. 

The third type of jingasa that appeared during the bakumatsu era was derived from a rush woven hat worn by lower ranks. Almost invariably made of woven strings, it is called nirayama jingasa. Said to be worn by the followers of Egawa Tarozaemon – governor of Nirayama in Izu. he learned artillery from Kazan Watanabe and Western artillery from Shuhan Takashima and served as a professor of artillery. was later promoted by the top leaders of the shogunate government, and built six gun batteries. By far the bulk of these jingasaa are of lacquered twisted string. They take the form of what is not quite a circle folded in half – in other words imagine two pieces almost semicircular in shape sewn together along the ‘radius’. Inside they have the usual ear-loops but from what I can see, no pad.

Having listed all these conventional types, I point out that there seems to have been an almost infinite number of quirky variations. I have one, the front part seeming to be copied from a European morion and another like a mushroom-shaped farmer’s hat but in black lacquered iron. Just when these odd shaped jingasa were worn and who by, must at the moment remain unanswered.