was a type of headgear worn by the soldiers of the Japanese Imperial troops in the Boshin War

Boshin War

The was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court....

 (1867-68). The headgear was quite peculiar, involving the used of long, colored, "bear" hair.
The "Red bear" (赤熊, Shaguma) wigs indicate soldiers from Tosa

Tosa Domain

The was a feudal domain in Tosa Province of Japan during the Edo period. Its official name is . Some from the domain played important roles in events in the late Tokugawa shogunate...

, the "White bear" (白熊, Haguma) wigs soldiers from Chōshū, and the "Black bear" (黒熊, Koguma) wigs soldiers from Satsuma

Satsuma han

The Satsuma domain was one of the most powerful feudal domains in Tokugawa Japan, and played a major role in the Meiji Restoration and in the government of the Meiji period which followed...

.

The Shaguma is also worn during processions such as the Gion Festival. It is sometimes thought to have been inspired by the "red hair" of the Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 during their presence in Nagasaki

Nagasaki

is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Nagasaki was founded by the Portuguese in the second half of the 16th century on the site of a small fishing village, formerly part of Nishisonogi District...

.