Hiruma Hat Question

[Hiruma Kenchu]

I have quite an odd question but it has been bugging me for a while now as a self confessed Hiruma fan. Hiruma family scouts especially tend to wear a strip of cloth across their foreheads. Most likely because Hiruma himself did and set a fashion.

Does doing so symbolize anything? I have checked the cards mostly they wear red cloth but most recently they are wearing purple more and more. Only once has there been a Hiruma wearing white across his brow. Do the colours themselves mean anything, perhaps?

Certainly, Hiruma and Crab care nothing for fashion, and I would think it just a way to keep hair for your eyes whilst making that all important kill shot with your yumi. But some Hiruma who wear them are bald, Hiruma being the prime example, whilst the rest tend to have short cropped hair anyway (Ikage, Ikuya, Masato ).

Fashion, no.

Symbolism behind something simple that is overlooked by your enemy, does seem quite Hiruma.

Has anything been written about that?

Hiruma Nichi, wears white.
l5rsearch.com/db/search.cgi?cmd=detail&card_id=1730

Or maybe I am over thinking this?
Any ideas?

[Kakita Mitsouko]

I don't know bout the colors, but this cloth is traditionally used to prevent sweat to reach the eyes and somewhat disturb the aim.

[Mirumoto Machu]

I think Kamikazi pilots in WWII wore similare headbands.
Could it be related?
I know there are bigger japanophiles here then mw.

[Bayushi Haruka]

Rokugan isn't japan really.
The colors could be an indicator for rank or an identifying group. But the color otherwise typically doesn't have any other meaning than its practical purpose as Mitsouko explained.

[Hiruma Kenchu]

It was suggested to me that the colours could denote unit, rank or dojo. Good suggestions, thanks guys and gals. I doubt we will ever get any definitive answer as I have been told that AEG don't reply to fan questions.

[Kitsuki Yuushahime]

The colours could have more significance. In English we attatch certain meaning, symbolism or connotations to colours. E.g. Pink for girls, blue for boys, green for nature, black for evil, white for good, red for love, purple for royalty. Often a colour has multiple meanings. Blue can also relate to the ocean for example or the sky. It has a calming effect too and it is used in interior design to cool a room, just like red, orange and yellow are used to head a room or make it feel more welcoming.

I'm not an expert on Japanese use of colour but I would bet good money that there are some meanings to the colours that go beyond rank or, perhaps, the colour and rank are tied in - maybe purple is a more "important" colour than red or something like that.

Certainly red and yellow are very important in Japanese culture. Even the Rokugan fluff on samurai weddings, births and deaths briefly mentions this. White is the colour of death and purity. Red is the colour of birth. This is why a bride wears red under white - her loyalty to her old clan or her old identity is dying and she is reborn in the new Clan.

I would therefore suggest there is some meaning in this - like dwarfs dying their hair orange/red in warhammer to be troll slayers. It has some symbolism/deeper signficance. Perhaps it is as simple as a lucky colour or the colour of their school but... perhaps their school colour was chosen to represent something? Maybe purple means zen? It's worth looking into and I'd be quite interested to hear the result

[Hiruma Kenchu]

A wonderful theory, my friend, do you mind if I test it?

When I get a desktop, I will have a look at the all the Hiruma one at a time and do some spading by cataloging and referencing. At the moment I am using my data limited smartphone, makes many such things difficult.

[Kitsuki Yuushahime]

^^ Good luck with the data gathering. I'll have a look tomorrow and consult a Japanese friend if I get a chance. It'd be nice to know though ^_^