Page 113 - Edo: Art in Japan, 1615–1868

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added to shield most of the body. Iron face guards (menpo) covered either the lower half or the whole cat. 55
Helmet in the form of an
of the face. Some had detachable sections so that, for example, the nose protector might be removed. upside-down bowl, 1688,
Some came to be modeled in the form of ferocious faces, with boar-hair mustaches and violent expres- iron and lacquer,
height of helmet bowl 19 (7 72)
sions. From the bottom of the mask hung an articulated piece to cover the throat, and this was often Fukuoka City Museum
supplemented by a gorget (nodowa) of metal plate. The two rectangular components that had hung from
the cuirass to protect the front of the shoulders, upper chest, and armpits were replaced by a decorative cat. 59
Helmet with rabbit's ears,
leaf-shaped piece (gyôyô) that covered the point at which the shoulder straps attached to the cuirass. sixteenth century,
This light armor effectively shielded the whole of the body. wood and/or papier-mâche,
iron, lacquer, and silver foil,
Known as tósei gusoku, or "modern equipment," light armor remained the standard type during height of helmet bowl 39.5 (15'A),
National
Museum of
the Edo period. But in the latter part of the sixteenth century more exotic and grotesque forms of armor Japanese History, Chiba
appeared. This was an age when the individual could rise in status by military merit, and many ex-
pressed their individuality with armor of striking inventiveness. The standard helmet bowl was still
made, but others assumed new and fantastic shapes. The head-shaped type (zunari) has a rounded
elongated form to which a forehead with wrinkles and eyebrows could be added. The peach-shaped

type (momonari), which derived from the European morion, was made of two rounded iron sheets fixed
together from front to back along a centerline.The riveted iron plates of the tied-towel type (oki-tenugui)
looked like a towel knotted around the wearer's head. Some helmets imitated the paper court hat (eboshi);
some copied European shapes; and some were built up into striking geometrical forms. Others were
given the appearance of monstrous or animal heads. Certain helmets were even humorous, being
fashioned in the shape of an inverted bowl (cat. 55) or with features of a rabbit or an ass. One helmet
rising into two high rabbit's ears displays stylized anthropomorphic wrinkles and eyebrows on the plate
covering the forehead and brings the ears into a strangely acceptable position on a human head (cat. 59).