Just wondering...

[Stuart Liptrot]

I'd like to know if this helmet is an original souvenir item or something else!?
Hope it's not a post ww2 Police version!

The words on the sides are crudely done, using a worn brush or even a twig.

The attempt at the Japanese Kanji on each side is copied from the original script on one of the internal leather tongues.
The chinstrap seems to have been cut off. -Thank You.

 

[Majestic]

Hello Stuart,
You might try posting this to the Japanese war memorabilia thread at Warrelics.eu. They have more expertise with this kind of stuff. My own impression is that the writing is a crude attempt to make this item more marketable - like the fake flags we often see with the name "Tojo Hideki" written on them. I don't think any Japanese soldier would need to write (or want to write) either Iwo Jima or Okinawa on a helmet. The writing on the leather insert is too difficult to make out, but I can tell that it doesn't say either Okinawa or Iwo Jima (or Io Jima as it is more faithfully rendered nowadays).
The helmet does look like an authentic WW2 Japanese helmet. But it may have been tarted up to lure an unwitting buyer.

 

[Stuart Liptrot]

I was wondering if the original blue paint would be U.S. shipboard paint souvenired by sailors to sell.? Adding a rising sun in the process.
If authentic , I feel the crude additional, Okinawa , Iwo Jima & the copycat Kanji, seem to be added later after being aquired by a veteran ? Literally applied in in the field with whatever was available. ( Wouldn't be surprised if a bit of at twig!)
(If there was absolutely no doubt it's a paint job, I'd probably have a careful go at revealing the original shell.)

 

[mdchachi]

It doesn't look like they were trying to fool anybody since the guy wrote his own name also, "Harrison." Maybe he'd been to both Okinawa and Iwo Jima and that's why he wrote the two locations. It could be blue if it was repurposed postwar for civilian use.

 

[NANGI]

Konnichiwa Stuart Liptrot-san!

I think it's a Japanese army helmet "九〇式鉄帽：Type 90 iron helmet".

However, the flag print and lettering were all added later. Even the blue color on the surface.

The original color of the surface is olive, the same as the color of the interior.

Yes, post ww2 police helmets are blue, but do not have the star marking on the front. And police helmets are blue on the inside too. For this reason, this helmet is not for police use.

If this helmet were to be used for civilian purposes, the star marking would definitely be removed. For this reason, this helmet is not for civilian use.


The original owner/Harrison? may have acquired this helmet on the battlefield. The second owner then acquired the helmet with the intention of reselling it.

The second owner likely knew the helmet was for military use and added flags and lettering to it to sell it for a higher price.

Unfortunately, the second owner did not know the original color. And he/she may have mistaken the police blue color, which was common at the post ww2, for the original color.

Then, in an effort to clean it up, the second owner repainted the helmet – the wrong color blue.

The result was a blue military helmet like this one, I think.

NANGI

 

[Stuart Liptrot]

The blue overpainted helmet is more likely, readily available wartime, shipboard paint. After all the appreciated input, I'm more confident that it's period souvenired!
Here's something to bear in mind..
pictured- U.S. Gun crews ww2 blue painted helmets