Shaguma

The Shaguma (赤熊, "Red Bear") was a type of headgear worn by the officers of the Imperial Japanese Army troops in the Boshin War (1868–69). The headgear was quite peculiar, being a sort of wig composed of long, dyed yak hair and held in place by a chin-strap.

Jinshotai (From the left in the bottom row: Ban Gondayu, Itagaki Taisuke, Tani Otoi(young boy), Yamaji Motoharu. From the left in the middle row: Tani Shigeki(Sinbei), Tani Tateki(Moribe), Yamada Kiyokado(Heizaemon), Yoshimoto Sukekatsu(Heinosuke). From the left in the top row: Kataoka Masumitsu(Kenkichi), Manabe Masayoshi(Kaisaku), Nishiyama Sakae, Kitamura Shigeyori(Chobei), Beppu Hikokuro.)

Haguma (left) and shaguma (right) headdress

Shaguma troops in the Battle of Ueno, at Ueno Park temple

Duel between a Shōgitai and Shaguma-wearing Jinshotai (迅衝隊) at the Battle of Ueno

The "Red bear" (赤熊, Shaguma) wigs indicate officers from Tosa, the "White bear" (白熊, Haguma) wigs officers from Chōshū, and the "Black bear" (黒熊, Koguma) wigs officers from Satsuma. However, the elite Jinshotai corps of Tosa were known to have worn the Shaguma as well.

Today, headgear similar to the historical Shaguma is also worn during processions such as the Gion Festival. Such headgear is sometimes thought to have been inspired by the "red hair" of the Dutch who landed in Nagasaki during the time of Sakoku.[1]

Notes

1. "Shaguma are characters who appear annually in the Gion Matsuri procession. ... The red hair of the shaguma and their grandiose mannerisms are thought to have originally been inspired by the Dutch traders who arrived in Nagasaki" in Matsuri! Japanese festival arts by Gloria Gonick – 2002, p.25