Page 115 - Edo: Art in Japan, 1615–1868

An especially extravagant example of the so-called unusual helmets (kawari kabuto) is surmounted by
a Buddhist tower inscribed with the invocation "Hail to the Buddha Amitabha" (Namu Amida butsu)
(cat. 75). The bowl is composed of a few plates riveted together into the Etchü style, a high rounded

form with rather flattened sides. The eccentric beast on the crest resembles the lionlike shishi, with horns
and bovine ears. Documentation indicates that the helmet was made for a deeply religious member
of the Matsudaira clan by an armorer of the Iwai family. These unusual helmets continued to be made
well into the Edo period.
European-style armor influenced the design not only of certain helmets but of other compo-
nents of Japanese armor as well. One of the more frightening and extreme examples is the Nió set of
114 armor (cat. 80), named after the pair of ferocious muscular guardian figures (Nió; Sanskrit: Dvarapala)
found at either side of the gates of Buddhist temples. The cuirass is in the form of a naked male torso,
composed of two red-lacquered iron pieces for the front and back of the trunk. The head-shaped bowl
of the helmet is made of thick iron plate covered with the hair of a wild boar. This kind of helmet is
known as yarôtô, literally "uncouth fellow helmet." Another example (cat. 56) has the same fearsome
coiffure, with the face mask lacquered red and a mustache of the same boar hair. It may be that these
armors were meant to suggest foreigners, known as nanban (southern barbarians) and akage (red hair).
Certainly the custom of molding armor in the shape of a human body existed in Europe long before
this armor was made, and heavy iron-plate armor was produced in response to the introduction of fire-

arms from Europe in the mid-sixteenth century. Cuirasses made of solid iron plate to withstand gun-
shots can be found with bullet marks left by tests.
Many of these various types of armor were reproduced in the Edo period, although the light
armor remained the standard. Copies of ôyoroi, which were considerably lighter than the early armors,
were commissioned by the daimyo, particularly during the last years of the warrior government, the
Bakumatsu era, when a movement arose through many provinces to restore the military might of the
Kamakura period in response to shows of force by the navies of the western powers. On the whole,
the emphasis was on presenting an impressive spectacle as the daimyo and his retainers proceeded
to and from shogunal attendance. Some tozama daimyo, however, maintained a military bearing
because the memory of their old enmity in the battles of unification lingered despite their recognized
subservience to the government. Date Masamune (1567 -1636) and his successors wore armor of
solid iron plate, presumably very uncomfortable, on the long march from Sendai in the north to Edo
up to the last days of the Tokugawa government.

J I N B A O R I The sleeveless surcoat became fashionable during the civil wars of the Muromachi period (see cats.

S U R C O A T 61,62). Hemp and silk were used along with wool and velvet from overseas. The warmth and durability of
the imported materials made them ideal. The jinbaori surcoat was often brightly colored and bore strik-
ing motifs to make the wearer appear more impressive on the battlefield. During the Edo period they
remained a luxurious accessory. Heavy coats of wool, hemp, leather, silk, deerskin, feathers, paper,
velvet, and brocade were made for winter, and light gauze coats for summer. The jinbaori was originally
influenced by, or derived from, European coats, and some had European-style designs. A jinbaori
(cat. 63) owned by Maeda Shigehiro (1719-1753) has a design of the masts and sails of a European ship,
indicating the persistence of western motifs.