N° d'objet
4201.341.2
Titre
Japanese Menpo [half-face mask]
Créateur
Description
Menpo (half-face mask) in the style called ressei men – fearsome mask, part of a Japanese dōmaru-style armour. Made from a single piece of hammered iron with naturalistic features including moustaches of stiff horsehair. The mask is fitted with small hooks (ori-kugi) to which the helmet cords would be attached. It also has a small bulbous fitting with a hole (asenagashino ana) which allows sweat to escape. The tare (throat guard) is of three lames of black lacquered iron laced vertically with red and black silk braids. Unusually the interior of the mask is lacquered black, they are usually of red lacquer to give the wearer’s face a ruddy and fearsome glow.
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.
Date
1615 - 1868
Période de création
Edo period
Dimensions
- Height: 220 mm
- Width: 180 mm
- Depth: 160 mm