All text and information in this series is copied from the exhibit and its supporting material, not my writing.
All photos are by Brenna Reistad.
Components and Materials
Samurai armor consists of a helmet, mask, and chest armor combined with shoulder guards, sleeves, a skirt, thigh protection, and shin guards. Additional articles, including a sleeveless surcoat, complete the set, which might weigh between twenty and forty-five pounds in total.
The armor, very light when compared to European or Persian versions, was made of small, perforated plates that were often lacquered and held together with colored lacing and silk cords. Many materials were required to produce a suit of Japanese armor that was as beautiful as it was functional. Iron, leather, brocade, and precious and semiprecious metals were often used.
Several artisans worked for many months to create a single suit of samurai armor. Today, few suits have survived with all of their original components. Sets were handed down from father to son. Older elements were often incorporated into newer armor and laces destroyed by moisture or wear were replaced.
Surcoat (jinbaori), from the Mōri Family
18th century
Wool, cord, brocade
This battle jacket in bright yellow wool displays the bold, black paulownia crest of the Mōri clan. The interior of the jacket is lined with black silk and the lapels are made from gold brocade.
Surcoat (jinbaori) with the Mōri Family Crest
18th century
Wool, cord, brocade
Surcoat (jinbaori) with the Mōri Family Crest
18th century
Wool, silk, brocade
This battle jacket is cut from thick Holland wool and rimmed with gold brocade at the sleeves and hem. The paulownia crest of the Mōri family is embroidered on the back in white silk.
Pants (hakama), from the Mōri Family
18th century
Silk, gold thread Worn underneath the armor, this pair of pants is made of a yellow silk brocade and decorated with a geometric pattern in gold thread.
Jacket (hitatare) and Pants (hakama)
19th century
Silk
This jacket and baggy trousers were traditionally worn under a suit of armor. This set is made of russet brocade decorated with a woven pattern of peonies—symbols of wealth, fortune, and bravery.
Myōchin Munesada Japanese,
active late 18th century
Sleeves (kote) with Design of Silver Clouds
1790s
Iron, silver
A member of the Myōchin School, the artist used several techniques to create these magnificent sleeves. Clouds and mythical creatures adorn the forged plates covering the hands and forearms. The demons chiseled on the upper plates appear with the sacred pearl—the Buddhist wish-granting jewel—on their foreheads.
Ichiguchi Munemoto Japanese,
active 18th century
Shin Guards (suneate) with Design of Chinese Lions among Peonies,
from the Yanagisawa Family
18th century
Iron, gilt bronze, silk
This pair of shin guards has butterfly hinges and is richly decorated with chiseled and gilded bronze embellishments of Chinese lions—protective Shinto and Buddhist creatures—frolicking among peonies, which symbolize imperial power. The knee guard bears the crest of the Yanagisawa daimyō from Kōriyama, Yamato province (modern-day Nara prefecture).
Parts of the Armor
Shoulder Guards (sode) The shoulder guards of Japanese armor were originally designed for equestrian combat and took the place of shields. Their size and shape evolved and varied with the style of armor. The large, square shoulder guards seen here reflect the style of Kamakura-period armor that came back into style among wealthy daimyō during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Thigh Protection (haidate) Haidate, thigh protectors made of leather or iron scales secured to a foundation of fabric, were introduced in the 13th century. Shaped like a divided apron, haidate are secured by straps that tie around the waist and sometimes by additional straps that encircle the thighs.
Shoes (kutsu) While the average soldier wore straw sandals or went barefoot, commanders wore leather shoes, often embellished with bear fur or horsehair and with soles that were sometimes lacquered.
Chest Armor (dō) The chest armor protects the vital organs and, along with the helmet, is the oldest part of Japanese armor. Of the various armor components, the chest armor underwent the greatest changes over time and consequently exhibits the most variety in form and construction. Originally made of small, perforated iron or leather plates, the chest armor’s small plates were, over time, replaced with larger metal ones that were quicker and more economical to produce
Skirt Panels (kusazuri)
The skirt in Japanese armor is known as a kusazuri (literally, the “grass-scraper”) and was composed of several vertical sections dictated by the type of armor or combat. Like the shoulder guards, kusazuri were designed to be collapsible.
Helmet (kabuto) The traditional samurai helmet was an iron bowl made from overlapping plates of wrought iron and a neck guard of collapsible panels. Here, the high-sided helmet bowl is made of twenty-six silver-lacquered plates. An ornate attachment above the visor supports both stylized, horn-like attachments (kuwagata)and a large, disk-shaped ornament (maedate) with the Matsudaira family crest.
7. Mask (menpō) Masks, usually made of metal, provided total or partial protection for the samurai’s throat and face. This mask is a menpō, a half mask that covers only the lower part of the face. Like the rest of this suit of armor, it is lacquered in silver. The attached throat guard is made of five plates.
8. Sleeves (kote) For centuries, a Japanese warrior wore protection only on his left arm to prevent bowstring injury, leaving the right arm unencumbered, allowing greater freedom of movement for shooting arrows. Armored sleeves, or kote, came into use during the second half of the 12th century and are typically constructed of iron plates of various sizes and shapes, linked together by chain mail and secured to a silk-brocade backing. These kote make use of silver lacquered iron.
Shin Guards (suneate)
The earliest Japanese shin guards, or suneate, made from three leather or metal plates, covered only the shins. New designs appeared in the 15th century with extensions to cover the knees and soft leather or fabric lining to protect the skin from the metal.
Armor of the Tachidō Type, made for Matsudaira Yoshiyuki
17th–mid-19th century
Iron, lacquer, silver, shakudō, gold, bronze, leather, silk, fur, wood, brocade
This complete suit of armor was custom-made for Matsudaira Yoshiyuki (1641–1711), the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the warlord who founded the military government that ruled during Japan’s Edo period.
The armor of the tachidō type features a rigid chest piece in two parts that hinge together under the left arm and fastens on the right side with a cord. Its components are presented separately here to better display each piece.
Armor of the Yokohagidō Type, with the Ikeda Family crest.
Helmet
14th century
Armor
18th century
Iron, shakudō, lacquer, lacing, leather, bronze, wood, silk, brocade, bear fur
Yokohagidō-type armor features chest armor made of flat and wide horizontal plates. The coiled dragon on the chest is rendered in shakudō, an alloy, or combination, of gold and copper treated to give it a bluish-black hue. Blossoming plum branches—symbols of strength and perseverance—embellish the sleeves.
Water plantains in gold lacquer climb up the shin guards. The leather shoes are covered in bear fur. This exceptional suit belonged to the Ikeda clan, one of the wealthiest and most important daimyō families in Edo-period Japan, whose crest is an encircled butterfly.
Armor of Warabe Type for a Child
19th century
Iron, lacquer, gold, wood, lacing, fabric
A boy born into a samurai family started rigorous physical and mental training when he received his first wooden sword, around age three. Years of intense instruction in martial arts, history, classical literature, and calligraphy followed.
At his coming-of-age ceremony, around age twelve, he was given a suit of armor like the one here. During their apprenticeship, trainees often lived with experienced samurai who introduced them to warrior culture. This close relationship lasted until the boy was approximately twenty years old.
Samurai Armor Exhibit:
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