This New $3-Store Hat Looks Exactly Like 1,000-Year-Old Aristocratic Headwear

What's going on

3COINS is a hugely popular Japanese variety store where almost everything costs around 300 yen — think a dollar store with a much better sense of design. It's known for turning out trendy little accessories, and its latest release caught someone's eye for a very specific reason: it looked uncannily like something out of a history book.

The item in question is a wide-brimmed sun hat with a veil that drapes down and covers the face and shoulders. That silhouette is a close match for the *ichime-gasa*, a woven travel hat worn with a hanging veil by aristocratic women more than a thousand years ago, during Japan's Heian period. It was designed so a woman could go outdoors, stay covered from the sun and prying eyes, and still keep both hands free.

One post pointing out the resemblance took off, and people piled on with jokes about fashion cycling all the way back to the 9th century — followed by a genuinely split debate about whether a hat with almost no peripheral vision is a good idea or not.

Comments

Saw 3COINS’ new product and got major déjà vu — turns out it’s this. We’re regressing further and further back into the Heian era.

スリコの新商品、既視感あるなと思ったらこれだ時代がどんどん平安に回顧してる

View on X

lmaooo fr

確かにwwwww

I’ve heard trends cycle back around every so often, but I didn’t expect it to go all the way back THERE lol

流行は定期的に周回してるって言うのは聞くけどそこに戻るのかあｗｗｗ

It’s finally here. The mysterious woman in the mountains who suddenly calls out to travelers. The young pilgrim on the Kumano pilgrimage turning around at her “excuse me”… creepy lol (A nod to old Japanese ghost-story tropes about eerie women who approach lone travelers on remote mountain roads.)

遂に出た。山中で急に話しかける女人。「もし」で振り返る熊野詣の若者。こわｗｗｗ

This made me laugh!

笑ってしまいました！

Next up: probably shaved-off eyebrows repainted higher on the forehead, plus blackened teeth ✨😏✨ (Both were considered elegant beauty standards for noblewomen in the Heian period.)

たぶん、まろまゆにお歯黒も来ますね✨😏✨

But the Heian period was actually a cold climate era, sooo cold though.

でも平安時代って寒冷時代でごっう寒いんだよなあ。

I thought it was for bug protection.

虫除けだと思ってた

Ngl I kind of want this.

普通にほしいなこれ

I’d love to walk around in this but wouldn’t it be way too much of a hassle for everyone else lol

これで歩きたいけど流石に迷惑すぎない?笑笑

This is literally the Heian princess thing I ask for every year… I want it

わたしが毎年欲しがってた平安の姫のやつじゃん…欲しい

I’ve been looking for something like this but it never quite feels right — maybe it comes down to whether both hands are free or not.

探してたけどなんかこれじゃない感があるのはやはり両手が使えるか否かなのだろうか。

The Heian-style one leaves both your hands free, so that’s the one I want.

平安の方両手開くからこっちが欲しいよぉ

I genuinely kind of want an ichime-gasa — the woven hat with the hanging veil. Having both hands free is great.

市女笠と垂れ衣はわりと本当にほしい両手が空くのが良い

Holding an umbrella is a pain, so can I pair this with that head-mounted parasol everyone dragged so hard during the Tokyo Olympics? (A head-worn sun shade handed out to Games volunteers was widely mocked online at the time.)

手持ちは面倒だから東京オリンピックで散々こき下ろされた頭に装着タイプの日傘と併用してええか？

I’ve actually used the rain version of this — it’s useless in wind. Only works when it’s completely still or when you’re just standing around. Walk in it and it flips up everywhere, gets in everyone’s way.

これの雨用使ったことあるけど、風で使えないですよ、これ。無風時のみとか待機時のみ可能。歩いたら捲れまくって周りに迷惑だ。

In terms of “you literally can’t see your surroundings,” the old version is actually more practical lol

周りが見えない…という意味では昔の物の方が実用的。笑

Your field of view is basically nothing, which is scary to use on public roads, and I don’t want to pass someone this wide who also can’t see what’s around them.

視界激狭で公道で使うには怖いし、こんな幅取るくせに周りが見えない人とすれ違いたくない

Seriously just sell me the woven hat, I’ll buy it.

まーじで編笠売ってくれ買うから

Feels like the limited visibility makes this dangerous.

視界が制限されて危険な気がする

In this dangerous day and age, who on earth would use a product that creates this many blind spots❓💦 Your sense of danger is far too low, my dear💦💦 What if an assassin attacked from the side and you never noticed❓💦💦💦 You wouldn’t even notice a hunk of metal coming at you from the side, my dear💦💦💦💦

この物騒なご時世にこんな死角が生まれまくる商品使う人なんておられますのや❓💦危機意識が低いザマス💦💦横から刺客に襲われて気づけまして❓💦💦💦鉄の塊が横からやって来ても気づけませんことよ💦💦💦💦

Seems good for standing in line under the blazing sun, or other times you can’t really move anyway.

炎天下の待機列とか動けない時には良さそう

Actually, why not just make the Heian-style version out of UV-cut fabric?

ってか、いっそUV素材で平安側作ったらどうだろうか？

My take

They say fashion means gritting your teeth through the discomfort — but I guess once you hit your limit, you swing right back toward practicality?

#Funny #Fashion #Culture

Source & translation note

Comments loosely translated for tone. Reactions collected from Togetter and X threads.

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