【Reading】じんがさ

【English Name】Jingasa

Jingasa is an industry term referring to the state in nigiri sushi where the neta covers the shari like a kasa (conical hat/cap).

The etymology lies in a piece of armor that was active in Japan's Warring States period. The original jingasa was a head covering worn in place of a helmet, mainly by foot soldiers and common soldiers, in periods after the Muromachi era; it was finished by applying lacquer to thin iron or leather. The early structure was made by laying a frame of forged-iron bone plates called sujigane on the reverse side of the leather and applying lacquer, but as firearms spread on the battlefield, the shift to all-forged-iron construction progressed. Because it could be completed simply by forming forged-iron plates into a hat shape and waterproofing them with lacquer, it required far fewer production steps than an ordinary helmet.

The jingasa was prized in various situations beyond its role as armor. Held in the hand it functioned as a shield, and during encampment a carefully cleaned iron jingasa was used as a substitute for a large pot to cook miso soup, sometimes providing meals for three or four people, it is said. When worn, cloth such as sarashi was inserted between it and the head to serve as cushioning, and a hanging cloth was attached to devise protection of the face from sunlight and arrows.

In the world of sushi, likening this kasa to the shape covering the head, the figure of a nigiri whose neta largely covers the shari came to be called "jingasa." Variations of differing shapes, such as the hazori-gasa and the kuruma-gasa, also existed.