[Gusoku] Type Armor European-style cuirass with dark blue lacing
Details
[Gusoku] Type Armor European-style cuirass with dark blue lacing
Azuchi-Momoyama period, 16th century
1領
Important Cultural Property
This is a cuirass and helmet from a set of Japanese armor. A raised line runs from top to bottom, with the armor tapering sharply in the center. It looks different from our usual image of Japanese armor. Japanese versions of European armor were popular during the Azuchi-Momoyama period in the late 17th century, as were Western-style suits of armor produced in Japan. The bowl of this helmet it thought to have been imported, while the flared white hair is yak fur. Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Edo period, presented this set of armor to one of his retainers, Sakakibara Yasumasa, just before the Battle of Sekigahara. This armor has a unique atmosphere compared to others. It certainly conveys this era's trend for eye-catching designs.
Go to museum site
Tokyo National Museum