The helmet you’re probably thinking of is a kabuto — a Japanese samurai helmet, often with a crest or face armor, and in the Edo period it was usually more ceremonial or status-based than practical battlefield gear. In 13 Assassins , taiga dramas, and similar period films, you’ll often see versions of the kabuto associated with daimyo, shogunate retainers, or high-ranking samurai rather than a single “official uniform.”

What it is called

  • Kabuto : the helmet itself.
  • Maedate : the front crest or ornament on the helmet.
  • Shikoro : the neck guard hanging from the back.
  • Kawari kabuto : a more unusual or decorative helmet style often seen in drama and display pieces.

Edo-period context

During the Edo period, Japan was under the Tokugawa shogunate, and armor gradually became less about active warfare and more about rank, tradition, and ceremony. Helmets could still signal authority, family identity, and symbolic power through crests and distinctive shapes.

In dramas like 13 Assassins

What looks like “official wear” on screen is usually a stylized samurai armor set, not a modern uniform with one fixed standard. Productions often use kabuto designs that fit the character’s rank and the dramatic mood, especially ornate helmets with large crests or bold shapes.

Simple answer

If you want the shortest name: kabuto.
If you mean the decorated helmet with the big crest: kabuto with maedate.
If you mean the full noble samurai armor look from Edo-period stories: yoroi or gusoku with kabuto.

TL;DR: the Edo-period shogunate-style helmet shown in dramas is usually a samurai kabuto , often part of formal armor rather than everyday “official wear.”