Armor (Yoroi), Metropolitan Museum of Art: Arms and Armor
armor: Bequest of George C. Stone, 1935; horns (kuwagata): Gift of Bashford Dean, 1914
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Medium: Iron, lacquer, leather, silk
During the eighteenth century, there was a revival of interest in
medieval Japanese culture. As the demand for historical styles of armor
began to increase among the wealthy lords, contemporary armorers studied
the older forms and techniques in order to duplicate them. This example
imitates a yoroi of the twelfth to thirteenth century. It is
characterized by a helmet with prominent rivet heads and a wide, flaring
neck guard and by a large cuirass with a separate panel on the right
side, large square shoulder guards, and a deep four-sided skirt.
