General News

Tottori Store Flooded with Inquiries about Helmet Presented to Trump

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:47 JST, February 13, 2025

TOTTORI — A doll store in Tottori Prefecture is being flooded with inquiries about the golden ornamental helmet that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba presented to U.S. President Donald Trump during their meeting last week. Ishiba is originally from the prefecture.

The helmet, called Amairo Odoshi Manten Kinboshi Kabuto and priced at ¥168,000 including tax, is sold by Ningyo no Hanafusa, a long-established doll store in Tottori. Made of processed metal, the helmet is used as a decoration during the Boys’ Festival. The fukigaeshi, or flaps on both sides, are decorated with arabesque patterns which represent the perpetuation of descendants and longevity. The gold color is used as a wish for the owner to shine with eternal radiance.

The Foreign Ministry contacted the store in November and asked if the store had a wearable gold helmet as a souvenir for overseas, so the store provided it. But it was not told that the item would be presented to Trump.

After the meeting, the number of calls to the store jumped from about five per day to about 100. Many of them inquired about the size and type of helmet. There were also calls from the United States and South Korea. The number of hits on the store’s website also increased from about 100 per day to about 20,000.

Orders have been pouring in, with some customers saying, “We want to put one in our office for good luck.” Currently, customers have to wait about two years before receiving the helmet.

“I would be happy if this could be an opportunity [for people] to learn about traditional Japanese culture and help Japan and the United States build a good relationship,” said Ningyo no Hanafusa President Tomoya Hanafusa, 38.