＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
I wrote an article about “men’s parasols（「男の日傘」）” before, and this time I would like to consider “men’s hats” (including “summer hats”).
<Men’s parasols aren’t uncool, and in 2020, “children’s parasols” will be very popular due to Corona!>
１．Hats on old and middle-aged men
When I was a child, I often saw old men wearing hats. In the TV animation “Sazae-san（「サザエさん」）,” father Namihei wears a “middle-fold hat when he commutes to work.
Recently, Taro Aso, Minister of Finance, was reported to be wearing a hat on his outing, just like Al Capone. Come to think of it, I remember seeing a picture of his grandfather, former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida, also wearing a hat!
In the past, it was common for elderly and middle-aged men to wear hats, not as a “fashionable” item, but rather as a “gentleman with a proper appearance.
However, after World War II, it gradually became less and less customary for men to wear hats.
２．Hats when playing golf
When playing golf, hats are worn more for safety than for protection from the sun. This is not only good manners, but also to prevent accidents. On the golf course, you never know where an OB ball may come from.
When I started playing golf, Mr. Kikuo Arai, a professional golfer, always wore a fashionable middle-fold hat. Most golfers wore hats, sun visors and caps were in the minority, and some wore no hats at all. However, perhaps due to the influence of Tiger Woods, caps gradually became the mainstream.
３．Young Talent Wearing Hats
However, it seems that it has become fashionable for young men to wear hats since young celebrities such as Takuya Kimura of Smap and other Japanese idols began appearing on TV wearing hats as a “fashionable” look.
４．I have a feeling that this will spread as a measure against heat stroke in the future.
After I retire completely, when I go out or ride my bicycle in the summer, I use a mesh hat I bought for golf as a substitute for a “straw hat.
Since Japan is expected to gradually become “subtropical” in the future, I think it will be very useful as a “countermeasure against heat” and “heat stroke.
How about recommending that “businesspersons wear hats when commuting to work” as part of the “Cool Biz promotion campaign” not only by the government and local governments, but also by companies?
Besides, there have been some accidents recently outside of the summer season, such as a part of a building wall falling off or a signboard falling down, so I think it is meaningful to wear a hat as a “safety measure,” although I do not think it is as effective as a helmet.
To me, I have a feeling that men’s hats will become fashionable (or rather, “revived” or “reinstated”) in the future.
