Named Japanese WWII Army Type 90 Combat Helmet – Barn Find

A barn find, which was recently discovered in an old farmhouse in the countryside in Yamagata Prefecture. Most barn-find helmets are in miserable condition, often flawed by missing parts or mouse-bitten liners. However, this example is complete. No parts are missing and the liner system is undamaged, the chinstrap is in full length and the liner pads and the inner cords are present and intact. Needless to say, there is no mouse-bites on the leather! However, the helmet is in uncleaned condition, so the liner is covered with light dust from storage.

The helmet has no strong signs of use but the entire surface of the shell is peppered with superficial rust. Also, a couple of 5cm diameter spots of rust are present – one near the top and the other on the side of the shell. Probably, the helmet had been stored upside down. This also explains why the liner was covered with dust. In any case, all of this is the proof that the helmet had been forgotten in a dusty storage area in the long post war years. Despite the rust on the surface of the shell, the helmet on the whole is in a great condition, not in the process of corrosion.

The kanji on the liner leather is a signature of the former owner of the helmet, “ Tomoo Sasamoto, Yamagata-shi, Yakushi-cho.” (笹本友雄、山形市薬師町). The helmet comes in the size SMALL (as shown in the small kanji 小 on the rear edge of the shell inside) . As we noted elsewhere before, a small-sized helmet is ten times more scarce than a large-sized helmet. This helmet is dated 1942.

A very rare opportunity to own an awesome one-look original in uncleaned condition which was recently discovered in Japan!!