Page 112 - Edo: Art in Japan, 1615–1868

rectangular plates hanging loosely from the shoulders would swing to protect the armpits when the
bow was aimed to the side.
The bow was the main weapon of the mounted archer. Measuring around two meters long, it
was thus taller than the archer. The grip was set below the center of the bow to facilitate handling,
especially when mounted warfare required the bow to be moved from one side of the horse's head to
the other. The wooden saddle and iron stirrups were designed very much with horseback archery in
mind. The saddle, the form of which changed little by the Edo period, is composed of four pieces: a
pommel, a cantle, and two longitudinal bars that form the seat. The pieces are tied together with cord

for a strong, flexible structure. Laterals on the pommel and cantle provided rests for the upper legs.
The stirrups are platforms large enough to hold the whole foot and substantial enough so that the rider i i i
could stand up, wedged against the lateral pieces of the saddle, to bring his bow to bear on the enemy.
A set of saddle and stirrups designed primarily for horseback archery, with a design of cosmetic
brushes in gold makie lacquer (cat. 54), exemplifies the more luxurious equipment owned by the higher-
ranking warriors.
The most important component of a set of armor was the helmet. The bowl of the helmet is
made up of curved triangular iron plates riveted together vertically. The rivets of old helmets, known as
star helmets (hoshi feabuto), protrude from the surface as spikes. An Edo-period example was made as
part of an armor forTokugawa lemitsu (1604-1651), the third shogun of the family. It has a larger num-
ber of plates and rivets than early examples, and the rivets are much smaller (cat. 52). The plates come
together at the center of the crown, leaving a round hole (tehen no ana) defined by a soft metal decora-
tive surround. Early helmets have large openings at the top, which may have derived from the custom
of wrapping the hair in a cloth cap and pushing it through the hole to retain the helmet on the head.
This practice seems not to have survived the Heian period. On all helmets a skirt composed of rows of
linked platelets protected the neck and shoulders. These neck guards (shtkoro) hung around the back
and sides of the bowl and were articulated like the other parts of the armor to allow movement of the

head and arms. The ends are turned back, forming two flaplike sections (fukigaeslni) on which the clan
badge was often fixed, and which provided an extra defense below the rim of the helmet bowl. During
the Kamakura period some helmets were made with the rivets concealed and the edges of the plates
turned up to form vertical ridges (suji kabuto). At the same time the armor became lighter, a development
that continued over the course of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. One type (domaru) wrapped
around the body and closed on the right side, and one type (haramaki) closed down the center of the
back. Both had a skirt composed of several hanging portions laced together loosely to give complete
freedom of movement to soldiers on foot.
During the Muromachi period (1392 -1573) large armies of foot soldiers armed with pole-arms —
and with guns beginning in the middle of the sixteenth century — changed the shape of warfare. The
ordinary soldier had but a simple armor, often comprising no more than a breastplate with a short skirt
and a shallow conical helmet formed of a thin sheet of iron. The mounted archer was no match for great
numbers of foot soldiers with long spears and matchlocks. Thus substantial helmet flaps were replaced
with token flaps a fraction of the size, now intended only as decoration or as supports for the crest
(mon). The large shoulder pieces, which had served as shields for the sides of the trunk when the bow
was raised, were replaced by smaller pieces covering just the shoulders and upper arms. A new apron-
like set of thigh protectors (haidate) was worn beneath the skirt, and other new components were