A JAPANESE SHINGEN JINGASA (WAR HAT), 1750-1850

the wood with alternating vertical panels of black and mottled dark grey lacquer giving the appearance of a suji kabuto (ridged helmet) with an applied tehen kanamono (covering at the top of the helmet) and rear ring for an agemaki (decorative bow); the front with a gold mon (family crest) of the Tachibana family in the form of a citrus tachibana flower. The interior lacquered in red with gold flakes and with padded silk ties The Tachibana family were one of the most powerful kuge (court nobility) families in early periods of Japan's history. The jingasa is a lighter form of headgear worn by lower-ranking samurai retainers and the ashigaru (foot-soldiers). They were also increasingly worn for ceremonial parades and for the sankin-kôtai processions from regional domains to the shogun's court in Edo (Tokyo). The name of this style of jingasa is believed to trace back to the samurai warlord Takeda Shingen (1521-1573), who is said to have favoured this shape.