Original Item: Only One Available. A KASA (笠) is any one of several sorts of traditional Japanese hats. Some types are amigasa, jingasa, sandogasa, sugegasa, and takuhatsugasa. Note that rendaku ("sequential voicing") causes kasa to change to gasa when it is preceded by another word specifying the type of hat: thus, JINGASA ("camp hat"; helmet). These were issued to the lowliest soldiers of the Japanese War Lords (The Samurai). They were used by simple Infantry who acted as Musketeers using the then prevalent Matchlock ignition system.

Of cloth-covered iron construction worn over a fabric, perhaps wool cap, these were nothing more than a thin covering of iron to hopefully deflect arrows and sword cuts.

Our example, constructed of eight iron plates riveted together and crudely lacquered, looks much like a Circus tent. There is a small cover piece in the center. The covering is heavily cracking revealing the oxidized iron underneath. The helmet retains what is likely a modern-replaced lining. It is a very elegant example but one that is very fragile due to its oxidation, and the edges are sharp.

One of the most lovely examples of an iron jingasa we’ve seen. Comes ready for further research and display.

Edo Period

The Edo period (江戸時代, Edo jidai), also known as the Tokugawa period (徳川時代, Tokugawa jidai), is the period between 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional daimyo. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characterized by economic growth, strict social order, isolationist foreign policies, a stable population, overall peace, and popular enjoyment of arts and culture, colloquially referred to as Ōedo (大江戸, Oo-Edo, "Great Edo").

During the last years of the bakufu, or bakumatsu, the bakufu took strong measures to try to reassert its dominance, although its involvement with modernization and foreign powers was to make it a target of anti-Western sentiment throughout the country.

The army and the navy were modernized. A naval training school was established in Nagasaki in 1855. Naval students were sent to study in Western naval schools for several years, starting a tradition of foreign-educated future leaders, such as Admiral Enomoto. French naval engineers were hired to build naval arsenals, such as Yokosuka and Nagasaki. By the end of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868, the Japanese navy of the shōgun already possessed eight Western-style steam warships around the flagship Kaiyō Maru, which were used against pro-imperial forces during the Boshin War under the command of Admiral Enomoto. A French military mission was established to help modernize the armies of the bakufu.

Following the Boshin War (1868–1869), the bakufu was abolished, and Yoshinobu was reduced to the ranks of the common daimyo. Resistance continued in the North throughout 1868, and the bakufu naval forces under Admiral Enomoto Takeaki continued to hold out for another six months in Hokkaidō, where they founded the short-lived Republic of Ezo.

Although the Edo Period would soon end, Bushido values would continue to influence Japanese society long after the samurai ceased to exist.

The Edo Period would also have a lasting impact on modern art and culture. The Edo Period lives on in plays, books, anime, and especially jidaigeki (historical period dramas), such as the classic samurai films of Akira Kurosawa.