Shaguma
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/Haguma_and_Shaguma.jpg/220px-Haguma_and_Shaguma.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Duel_between_a_Shogitai_and_Shaguma_in_the_Battle_of_Ueno.jpg/220px-Duel_between_a_Shogitai_and_Shaguma_in_the_Battle_of_Ueno.jpg)
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.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Jinshotai.jpg/440px-Jinshotai.jpg)
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
- ^ "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