Hachigane

[Julien]

Dear all,

 

I just wanted to open a discussion on the Hachigane type of helmet. They don’t seem to receive much attention, and information about them appears to be rather scarce.

 

They seem to have appeared during the late Muromachi period and remained in use until the end of the Edo period.

 

If you have any factual information, references, sources, or other documentation on this type of helmet, please don’t hesitate to share them here.

 

And if you have an example in your collection that you would like to share, I would be very interested to see it as well.

 

Here is mine.

[Bugyotsuji]

A nice example Julien with plenty of study points. I’ve had several of these over the years but although I find them fascinating they do not seem to get the appreciation they deserve. Why? Not quite a kabuto, or not decorative enough? 
 

Thry were certainly used in the Bakumatsu period when full armour was proving unwieldy on the modern battlefield, but I have struggled to find any evidence of pre-Edo use of this kind of evolved forehead (and optional cheek) protector.

[Julien]

They are surely underappreciated. I personally really like them.

 

It looks like these hachigane need guys like us if they don’t want to disappear into rust powder. 

 

Regarding this particular type, it looks like they were quite standardized, as I have found two almost identical examples, including the same type of padding.

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Agreed. They look almost Roman with those hinged, hanging cheek flaps. The top sections were originally retractable, but I have had a couple that were lacquered over.

Yours does not have a reinforcing bar across the top but it does have orikugi on either side. Nice to see some original padding and egawa edging.

[Julien]

The Roman style is truly strong with those... ! 
Yes, I took it because the padding was there. It is interesting to see how it was built : from the steel to the fabric.