Page 247 - JAPAN THE SHAPING OFDAIMYO CULTURE 1185-1868

fixed with rows of neatly assembled rivets. four-tier section fits around the body. Sus- three curved plates of iron. Although the
The rim band is pierced to receive studs pended from the shoulders is a pair of construction of the armor as a whole is
that fasten the peak in front and the shi- gyôyô, made of iron plate wrapped in basically standard for the Muromachi pe-
koro (neck guard), made of five lacquered stencil-dyed leather, which protects the riod, the fukikaeshi of the helmet stands
lamellar tiers joined with white and red cords that fasten the shoulder straps to the up more than is typical and the monochro-
silk lacings, along the sides and back. The front of the cuirass. A kusazuri, the pro- matic use of light aqua lacing is unusual.
peak is ornamented with a high-relief de- tective skirt, hangs from the cuirass in A number of decorative techniques
sign of gilt chrysanthemums, on which the eight small sections of five lamellar tiers. often used by armorers are employed, in-
now-lost kuwagata was mounted. At the Dividing the kusazuri into a larger number cluding openwork, high relief, iro-e (the
top of the helmet, the tehen no ana open- of smaller sections made ddmaru more application of gold or silver onto a back-
ing is circumscribed by the hachimanza, a flexible than oyoroi. The pair of dsode have ground of another metal for color con-
multi-layer gilt metal ring. The front of the seven lamellar tiers each. The lack of a trast), and nanako (in which the metal is
helmet has three spatulate ornaments tsurubashiri, the sheet of leather that cov- given a raised-dot surface). The shakudd
known as shinodare. The four upper tiers ers the lamellar-tiered front of the cuirass leaves and branches that hold clusters of
of the neck-guard extend forward and fold in oyoroi armor, reflects the shift away chrysanthemums on several parts of the
back to form fukikaeshi, the helmet's pair from the use of the bow and arrow. armor are executed in openwork. Nanako
of flaps. Each of these flaps, covered with Several colors of silk lacing are used to can be found on the toggles that fasten the
dyed leather with stenciled designs of join the lamellar tiers together. The lacing shoulder straps to the front of the cuirass.
shishi and peonies (cat. 146) is decorated pattern of the central portion of the ar- The iro-e technique is used in combina-
with a single, large, gilt chrysanthemum, mor, the cuirass and the kusazuri, is re- tion with high relief to emphasize the writ-
also found on the kyùbi no ita. The right- flected in the lacing of the dsode. The ing on the plaque of the helmet, which
hand flap of the shikoro has lost several of uppermost tiers of the central portion are reads Hachiman Daibosatsu (the Great
its lacquered lames, the vivid reminder of joined by red, white, and red lacings. Be- Bodhisattva Hachiman), the patron god of
a sword blow during a fierce battle. YS low are rows of green lacing, and then tiers the warrior. Iro-e, sometimes with high re-
joined with red and white; at the very bot- lief and sometimes alone, is also used in a
148 Ddmaru armor tom is a cross-stitched section of red. To number of places throughout the armor to
iron, leather, lacquer, silk, gilt metal accommodate this sequence in the seven- describe a mon, or family crest, that in-
cuirass h. 29.5 (ii5/s) tiered dsode, only one lacing of green in cludes a chrysanthemum and a horizontal
Muromachi period, the middle is needed. stroke signifying the Japanese numeral
first half loth century The lacquered helmet is of the suji ka- one. This mon was used by the Nasu, a
buto, or "ridged helmet," type; here the warrior family of Shimotsuke Province
Kagoshima Jingü, ridges are covered with gilt metal. Its (present-day Tochigi Prefecture). Indeed,
Kagoshima Prefecture shape, called akoda after a kind of oblong in the Shuko jisshu, an illustrated
Important Cultural Property gourd, was especially popular in the Muro- nineteenth-century compendium of fa-
machi period. Attached to the helmet mous antiquarian objects, this same set of
Ddmaru is a type of armor characterized bowl is a shikoro, or neck guard, of three armor is listed as a possession of the Nasu
by a continuous sheathlike cuirass that is lamellar tiers, the upper two turned back clan. AMW
wrapped around the body of the wearer
and fastened at the right side. It is thought at the front to form the fukikaeshi. The gilt
holds an elaborate
front
helmet
of the
to have been developed as the armor of openwork section of chrysanthemums, the 150 Haramaki armor
the common foot soldier roughly during iron, leather, lacquer, silk, gilt metal
the same period as dyoroi, from about the base for the gilt-metal hornlike projection, cuirass h. 30.3 (nv/s)
middle of the Heian period. During the the kuwagata, which flanks a central Muromachi period,
sword-shaped projection.
fourteenth century, however, as combat A shrine legend records that this ar- first half loth century
tactics shifted the emphasis from National Museum of Japanese
mounted archers to formations of foot sol- mor was used by Shimazu Takahisa (1514- History, Chiba Prefecture
1571), ruler of a large domain in
southern
diers wielding the halberd and the long Kyushu, whose son Yoshihiro (1535-1619) Important Cultural Property
sword, higher-ranking warriors began to was responsible for starting the first Sa-
prefer the more manageable ddmaru to the tsuma ware kilns (cat. 252). The Kagoshima This set of armor is of the haramaki type,
bulky dyoroi, adding a helmet and pair of Jingü owns another set of ddmaru similar in which the cuirass is wrapped around
dsode (large upper-arm guards). This set of to this one except in the colors of the lac- the front and fastened at the back. The
unusually well-preserved dômaru has sur- ings used to join the tiers together. AMW close-fitting haramaki originally was the ar-
vived the centuries with its helmet and mor of the common foot soldier. In re-
dsode intact. sponse to changes in military technique
The construction of this set is abso- 149 Ddmaru armor that required more mobility than the cum-
lutely standard for the Muromachi period. iron, leather, lacquer, silk, shakudd, bersome dyoroi armor allowed, high-
Small protective parts of solid iron gold ranking warriors began to wear the more
wrapped in stencil-dyed leather edge the cuirass h. 29.0(113/8) flexible haramaki with a helmet and pair of
top of the cuirass. Each of the tiers be- Muromachi period, loth century dsode (large upper-arm guards). It is
neath is composed primarily of small Kozu Kobunka Kaikan, thought that these warriors adopted hara-
leather lames that are tied together and Kyoto Prefecture maki somewhat later than ddmaru, during
coated with lacquer. These horizontal tiers Important Cultural Property the fifteenth century, and their patronage
are then laced together vertically. To pro- encouraged the production of high-quality
tect important parts of the body, iron Like cat. 148, this set of ddmaru is well pre- haramaki; this set is a well-preserved exam-
lames are interspersed with the leather served: the original akoda-shaped suji ka- ple from the sixteenth century.
ones in some portions of the lamellar tiers. buto helmet, the pair of dsode (large The cuirass, the kusazuri (protective
The upper lamellar part of the front of the upper-arm guards), and the cuirass, includ- skirt), and the dsode are constructed of
cuirass is a two-tier section, while that the ing the kusazuri (protective skirt), are in- thickly lacquered tiers of small lames. The
back is a three-tier section; below this, a tact. In addition, it has retained a set of
suneate (shin guards), each made from

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