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THE MILITARY AND CIVILIAN HEADGEAR OF IMPERIAL JAPAN

The Japanese employed a wide variety of headgear during World War Two. This section of the website covers civilian and military hats and helmets of the period. Each item is photographed, reviewed and a value is assigned to it. Some of the key elements of the headgear are discussed following:

Military Dress Caps

The dress cap is olive drab in color and similar in shape to that of the United States army, except that the crown is smaller and the visor is shorter. A red piping is inserted at the outer edge of the crown and the headband is encircled with a strip of red felt about 1 1/2 inches wide. At the front of the headband is a star, Silver for officers and Gold for enlisted men. For officers and men of the guards division, a semi-circular wreath of leaves is fastened just below the star. The visor and chin strap are of black leather in standard military design.

Military Field Caps

This is made of Olive drab cloth (wool or cotton) and is generally the shape of the head with a narrow visor of the same material and a thin, leather chin strap. It has three ventilation holes on each side near the top of the crown and a slit in the rear for adjusting size. It has a star along the front vertical seam. This cap may be worn under the helmet.

Combat Helmet

An integrated design where the metal shell and liner are inseparable. Fairly rudementary design. Four small vent holes are on top of the crown.

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WWII JAPANESE HATS AND CAPS




Japanese WW2 Army officer's dress hat. Olive drab main body with a center red stripe. A metal star is found in the front. Black leather visor.


WWII Japanese infantry officer's hat. Olive drab body with red piping and mid-stripe. Five point metal star located in the front. Black leather chin strap and visor.


WWII Japanese Imperial Guard officer's hat. Olive drab body with red piping and mid-stripe. Five point metal star located in the front with a wreath below it.


WWII Japanese Merchant Marine officer's hat. Dark Blue/Black body with a double chin strap. metal anchor and star surrounded by an embroidered wreath.




WWII Japanese Naval Officer officer's hat. Dark Blue/Black body with a white cover. metal anchor and Chrysanthemum surrounded by an embroidered wreath.


WWII Japanese Army Officer Parade Hat. Dark Blue/Black body with gold piping in multiple places. Large metal starburst logo in front.


WWII Japanese Merchant Marine officer's hat. Dark Blue/Black body with a double chin strap. metal anchor and star surrounded by an embroidered wreath.




WWII Japanese Army Field Hat. Of wool metal construction with a yellow star.


WWII Japanese Army Field Hat. Of wool construction with a yellow star in the front.


WWII Japanese Army Field Hat. Of wool construction with a yellow star in the front.


WWII Japanese Army Landing Forces Field Hat. Of wool construction with a yellow star in the front.




WWII Japanese Navyy White Field Hat. Of white cotton construction with a blue anchor stitched in the front.





WWII JAPANESE COMBAT HELMETS
For the most part the Japanese imperial armed forces employed one combat helmet. The design was very basic. A metal shell withe a rudementary liner. A metal insignia was attached to the front. A cloth chin strap was employed. It is thought that the helmet was not improved because most of the enemies the Japanese faced had even lower quality helmets or none at all - That is until they faced the Americans.


Japanese WWII combat helmet. As used by the Imperial Japanese Army. A metal star is afficed to the front. The liner consists of three leather pads. A cloth chin strap is provided.


Japanese WWII combat helmet. As used by the Imperial Japanese Army.


Japanese WWII Naval combat helmet. As used by the Imperial Japanese Army.


Japanese WWII Army combat helmet. As used by the Imperial Japanese Army.





Japanese WWII Army combat helmet. As used by the Imperial Japanese Army. Shows heavy battle field damage. Retains the original liner.


Japanese WWII Army combat helmet. As used by the Imperial Japanese Army. Complete with leather liner.


Japanese WWII Army combat helmet. As used by the Imperial Japanese Army. Shows battle field wear. Complete with front star. No liner.










WWII JAPANESE SUN HELMETS
It seems that just about every army or navy in teh world has had a lightweight helmet. These are knwon as sun helmets because they are usually worn in tropical areas. The Imperial Japanese armed forces were no exception. They employes a variety of sun helmets during WWII. Here are some of the examples:


Japanese WW2 Army tropical sun helmet. Of cotton construction with a cardboard frame. Very light weight design. OD color with a yellow cloth star in front. Complete with liner. Multiple ink stamps inside.


Japanese WW2 Army tropical sun helmet with BOx. Of cotton construction with a cardboard frame.



WWII JAPANESE CIVIL DEFENSE AND SECURITY HELMETS
The Japanese main land organized a group of civilians to provide support for the mainland to execute activities such as air raid management, fire fighting, security, etc. These were known as the civil defense forces. They had their own uniforms which included hats and helmets. Similar forces were developed by factories to provide security for their facilities. Here are some examples of the headgear:


Japanese WWII Civil defense helmet. Metal outer shell with a three rivet pattern on the side. The inside has white paint markings. Two rings are placed on the side to hold the chin strap. Complete with cloth liner.


WWII Japanese Civil Defense helmet. Of metal construction with a cloth liner. Light weight design. OD color with a red circle that has a letter "A" painted in white.


WWII Japanese Civil Defense helmet. Of metal construction. Marked on inside.


WWII Japanese Civil Defense helmet. Of metal construction. Complete with camo net and cloth chin strap.





WWII Japanese Civil Defense helmet. Of metal construction.


WWII Japanese Civil Defense helmet. Of metal construction.


WWII Japanese Civil Defense helmet. Of metal construction.






 
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