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I don't know what to call them, but I've seen these triangle-shaped things
sometimes in anime:

![From Binbougami ga](https://i.stack.imgur.com/TPWzOm.jpg) ![From Blood
lad](https://i.stack.imgur.com/vnUaLm.jpg)

What does the triangle-shaped headband mean and what is it called?


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tropes blood-lad binbou-gami-ga
What is the triangle-shaped headband these characters wear?


This triangle-shaped headband is called a _tenkan_ (天冠, lit. "heaven crown").
In some parts of Japan, it may also be called a _zukin_ (頭巾, lit. "hood" and
also used as a generic term), a _hitai-eboshi_ (額烏帽子, lit. "forehead
headpiece"), or a _kami-kakushi_ (髪隠し, lit. "hair-hider")2.

Traditionally, the _tenkan_ was one component of a traditional burial garment
( _shini-shouzoku_ / 死に装束). The garment also typically included a white
kimono, [these glove-things](https://i.stack.imgur.com/kDBze.png) ( _tekkou_ /
手甲), and a particular style of boots called _kyahan_ (脚絆) that I'm having
trouble finding a good picture of.

There are a number of explanations of the purpose of the _tenkan_ , including:

  * It must be worn to avoid offending Enma (a judge of the dead in Japanese Buddhist mythology; he's actually a derivative of the Hindu deity Yama)
  * It allows the dead to escape from hell
  * It functions as a signal that one was of high standing in life.

In anime today, I get the feeling that the _tenkan_ basically serves as a
signal to viewers that whoever is wearing it has something to do with death
(or, more generally, with non-humanness, I guess).

## Notes

  1. This answer is mostly a translation of the following article: [What's the triangular piece of cloth that ghosts wear on their heads?](http://allabout.co.jp/gm/gc/67450/) (Japanese)
  2. This seems like it may be a pun on 神隠し, or "spiriting away" (as in the Ghibli film 千と千尋の神隠し, or "Spirited Away"). See also [this question](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/12569/3437) at Japanese.SE.


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There is no specific word for it. It's basically a headband, and can be
generally referred to as a _boshi_ (hat) or _nuno_ (cloth). It's typically
associated with the white burial kimono, called a _kyoukatabira_.

This triangle-shaped white cloth item can go by multiple names, depending on
the region and religion. They have grandiose names such as _tenkan/tengan_
(heaven's crown) mundane is _zukin_ (hood or kerchief). Several of terms are
simple and descriptive, like _hitai-eboshi_ (forehead hat), or _hitai-kakushi_
(forehead-hider), _kami-kakushi_ (hair-hider), _houkan_ (diadem, only
Buddhists use this word) and _kami-kaburi_ (hair headdress). The most basic
term of all is probably _sankaku no (shiroi) nuno_ (triangular [white] cloth).

There have been two popular theories on it's purpose/origin, both are
speculative. Some say that the dead have or need to ascended to a higher
level, and thus the cloth item is placed upon their heads to show their new
status, or to help them ascend. Another theory suggests that that the sharp
point of the triangle shape are a ward to deter evil spirits/demons from
entering the corpse and resurrecting the it or preventing the soul from
passing on.


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In anime and manga it has been known to symbolize the dead, including zombies,
vampires, and ghosts. When you see this in anime or manga you know that the
character isn't alive.


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