The figure is a warrior in the royal army of the Meiji Restoration (1868 - 1912). According to a friend of mine who is interested in Samurai Warriors the helmet is covered in wolf fur as the warriors used to double up as city firemen and prior to tackling the fire used to soak their helmets in water to give them some protection against the heat. I do not know if this is true. The design was obtained from a childrens  book produced by Dover Publications. For reference purposes the jacket is JEC cokour code 204 and the skirt is JEC colour code 603.

Brigid Lowe
August, 2006