Page 243 - JAPAN THE SHAPING OFDAIMYO CULTURE 1185-1868

146 Oyoroi armor black-lacquered iron. A large, flaring, five-
iron, leather, lacquer, silk, gilt metal tier lamellar shikoro, or neck guard, is sus-
cuirass h. 33.3 (13 Vs) pended from the bottom of the bowl, its
Kamakura period, upper four tiers folded back sharply at the
late i3th-early i4th century front to form the fukikaeshi. The peak at
the front of the helmet provides a base
Kushibiki Hachimangü, for the great hornlike projection, the
Aomori Prefecture kuwagata.
National Treasure This set of armor is unusual in its lav-
Ôyoroi (literally "great armor") was the ish use of high-relief gilt metal decoration.
loose-fitting defensive armor of mounted The motif of the chrysanthemum appears
archers that was developed late in the throughout on many of the constituent
Heian period. This set from the Kamakura parts of the armor. Reflecting a tendency
period, remarkable for its abundant and toward realism in the Kamakura period,
highly accomplished decoration, repre- the perfectly formed flowers are modeled
sents the finest efforts of the metal- with close attention to fine detail, viewed
working and armor-making traditions of from the front, side, and back, in carefully
that time. orchestrated clusters. The overall extrava-
Typical of Oyoroi, it is constructed gance of this set is apparent in the kyùbi
chiefly of leather and iron lames bound to- no ita and the munaita, generally only
gether to form horizontal tiers. The lamel- wrapped with a piece of ornamental
lar tiers are covered with lacquer to lend leather, which are here covered with the
strength and rigidity and then laced to- chrysanthemum metalwork. The dsode
gether vertically, with distinctive, thick, provide a surface for a more expansive
red silk lacing in this example, to create treatment of the motif, as the chrysanthe-
large sections. These sections are then mums branch up and outward from a
joined with smaller, solid iron or leather bamboo fence toward stylized clouds at
parts. the top. The hole at the top of the helmet,
The conventions followed in compos- the tehen no ana, is encircled with the gilt-
ing this set are standard for dyoroi armor. metal interweave. Four plates radiating
The upper part of the cuirass consists of a from the tehen no ana along the four cardi-
small solid iron munaita, or chest plate, nal axes to the base of the helmet bowl are
and the tateage, two lamellar tiers in the encrusted with the gilt chrysanthemum
front and three tiers in the back. The metalwork, as are other parts of the hel-
lower part of the cuirass, a four-tiered ka- met such as the fukikaeshi and the base of
bukidd, protects the front, back, and left the kuwagata. AMW
side of the lower part of the torso. The
right side of the body is protected by a 147 Oyoroi armor
completely separate section called the iron, leather, lacquer, silk, gilt metal
waidate. The kusazuri, a protective skirt cuirass h. 33.3 (13 Vs)
suspended from the cuirass, is divided ver- Nanbokuchó period, i4th century
tically into four large sections of five tiers Eisei Bunko, Tokyo
each; the right section, a part of the Important Cultural Property
waidate, is separate from the other three
sections. The dsode, or large upper-arm According to Hosokawa family tradition,
guards, are seven tiers each. Two smaller this set of dyoroi, the oldest armor in the
independent protective plates hang down Hosokawa collection, was worn in a 1358
from the shoulders, one over each side of battle in Kyoto by Hosokawa Yoriari (1332-
the chest: on the right, the sendan no ita 1391), the founder of the family. Much of
made of three lamellar tiers, and on the the original assemblage that protects the
left, the kyùbi no ita of one solid iron plate. body has survived: the cuirass and its pen-
A tsurubashiri of soft leather covers dant kusazuri (protective skirt), including
the lamellar tiers of the front of the cuirass the entire waidate (right side guard), and
to provide a smooth surface for drawing the kyübi no ita, which is suspended from
the bow. It is stencil-dyed with a design of the left shoulder over the chest. The
shishi, mythical lionlike creatures, on a lacquer-coated tiers are made from iron
background of peonies. The peony is tradi- and leather lames. The front of the cuirass
tionally associated with refinement and was originally covered by a tsurubashiri,
the shishi with valor, both qualities to now lost, of soft deerskin with stenciled
which the members of the warrior class as- designs. The two expansive ôsode (large
pired. The two motifs often appeared to- upper-arm guards) are replacements dating
gether on armor, particularly in the from the sixteenth century and the sendan
Kamakura and Muromachi periods. no ita, which would have been suspended
The helmet, typical of those worn as from the right shoulder over the chest, is
part of a set of Oyoroi during this period, is missing.
of the hoshi kabuto type, literally "star hel- The hoshi kabuto (star helmet) is
met," a reference to the hundreds of rivets made of narrow trapezoidal iron plates
that punctuate its surface. The helmet
bowl is made from trapezoidal plates of

230