Original Item: Only One Available. Here we have a very nice example of an Imperial Japanese Army Enlisted Winter Fur cap, as used during WWII. While most picture the "Pacific War" as being fought on a bunch of Tropical Islands, Japan itself has regions of cold, and they also invaded China and were aware of the threat if Russia were to attack. They also invaded the Aleutian Island chain portion of Alaska, which is anything but tropical. This example is missing the star on the front.

The design of the cap is similar to winter caps used around the world, insulated with a flap going around the cap that can be folded down as needed due to colder weather. The portion over the ears is longer, so it can be tied under the chin, and there is a button and loop that hold the flaps in the upright position. There are also small ear flaps on each side, possibly used with earphones or just to aid in hearing, which have loops on them to attach to buttons for both the open and closed positions.

This is a cap for an EM/NCO, so unlike the Officer's version the fur is faux and not real fur on the flap. The officer version also has a larger front flap / visor area. There would normally be a yellow star on the circle on the front, but this example doesn’t have one.

This piece is marked with a grid on one side, for the owner to write his name, and the other side has the maker and production information. The center line of this is a date:
昭十六 年, which reads SHOWA (current reigning emperor) Juu Kyu Nen (16th year of reign - 1941). There are also what appear to be possible unit markings, making this a great research project.

Condition of the cap is excellent, with little sign that this was used in the field. Even the fur is in good condition, which is not common, because the fur is very delicate and soft and can be easily damaged. The olive green wool body shows no mothing we can see, and is in great shape.

A great chance to pick up a hard to find Imperial Japanese Army EM/NCO Winter cap, ready to display!

The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor of Japan as supreme commander of the army and the navy. Later an Inspectorate General of Aviation became the third agency with oversight of the army. During wartime or national emergencies, the nominal command functions of the emperor would be centralized in an Imperial General Headquarters (IGHQ), an ad-hoc body consisting of the chief and vice chief of the Army General Staff, the Minister of the Army, the chief and vice chief of the Naval General Staff, the Inspector General of Aviation, and the Inspector General of Military Training.