Inventarnummer
4201.341.1
Titel
Eboshi-style Kabuto [helmet]
Hersteller
Beschreibung
An Eboshi nari kabuto (Court cap shaped helmet), part of a set of Japanese dōmaru-style armour. The Eboshi nari kabuto is made of black lacquered iron and leather plates. The mabizashi (peak) has a fitting for maedate (fore-crest). Shikoro (flexible neck guard) of five horizontal black lacquered iron plates vertically laced with blue silk braid. The underside of the mabezashi is lacquered red, the helmet retains a hessian liner.
From around the later Muromachi era (1336 – 1573) Japanese armour became lighter and simpler. One such new form was the dōmaru which wrapped around the body, securing on the right hand side, and consisted of both lacquered leather and iron plates.
This armour may well contain elements of an earlier armour, probably Edo period (1615 -1868) and the ensemble may have been used for the processions known as Sankin Kōtai when regional warlords made the journey from their provincial capitals to that of the Shogun in Edo (modern day Tokyo); the armour was possibly reworked in the nineteenth century with the addition of superb green velvet and embroidery, though velvet was first recorded as being imported into Japan by the Portuguese in the late sixteenth century and later also from China; it is thought that Japanese production of velvet started in the late Edo period (1615 – 1868). The embroidery on the sleeves seems to be Japanese in style and application, but it is very unusual to find this type of textile on armour.
Datum
1615 - 1868
Entstehungszeitraum
Edo period
Format
- Height: 370 mm
- Depth: 300 mm
- Width: 280 mm