Samurai War Helmet. 1825-1875, Japan. This helmet has an iron “hachi” of thirty-three riveted laminations, a “shikoro” of five plates laced in “kebiki” (spread hair) style with navy blue “ito doshi” laces, and axes as “yokodate” made from whale baleen. A Phoenix (“Ho o”) serves as a “maedate;” one tail feather is missing. It is lined with rawhide.
Armor (Yoroi), Metropolitan Museum of Art: Arms and Armor
Gift of Bashford Dean, 1914
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Medium: Iron, leather, lacquer, silk, copper, gold, pigments
“At the end of the
Kamakura period, the haramaki (lit. “belly wrap”) was introduced as a
simpler form of scale armour for the low ranking samurai. Like the
dō-maru armour type, the haramaki was worn by the infantry on foot as a
lighter and simpler version of armour, in contrast to the heavy and sturdy ō-yoroi of the warrior nobles.During
the 14th century, the high-ranking samurai adopted a better quality
version of the haramaki. The cuirass of the haramaki wraps around the
torso and closed down the centre line of the back.” –Samurai Art Museum Berlin Source:
“At the end of the
Kamakura period, the haramaki (lit. “belly wrap”) was introduced as a
simpler form of scale armour for the low ranking samurai. Like the
dō-maru armour type, the haramaki was worn by the infantry on foot as a
lighter and simpler version of armour, in contrast to the heavy and sturdy ō-yoroi of the warrior nobles.During
the 14th century, the high-ranking samurai adopted a better quality
version of the haramaki. The cuirass of the haramaki wraps around the
torso and closed down the centre line of the back.” –Samurai Art Museum Berlin Source:
