Page 410 - Art In The Age Of Exploration (Great Section on Chinese Art Ming Dynasty)

boar's eye openings in the top serve to release
smoke. Six openwork panels with alternating
plum and bamboo patterns form the central body
cylinder. Above each such panel are smaller,
double-panel rectangular openings. One of the
bamboo-patterned panels serves as a door opening
into the lantern. With the exception of that door,
the lamp was cast as a single piece. The base plate
is a flat hexagon, supported by three feet.
The earliest dated metal hanging lantern bears
a 1319 inscription. Stylistic development moved
from comparatively simple and understated form
to a preference for the complex ajoure panels seen
here. The boldly executed floral designs suggest
certain painting trends during the same period.
j.u.

257
DOMARU ARMOR

late 15th—early i6th century
Japanese
height of cuirass 56.0 (22)
height of helmet (without the horns) 11.8 (4 /s)
5
length of shoulder-and-arm guard 43.7 (i? /^
1
Sata Shrine, Shimane Prefecture

Domaru originated in the Heian period (794-
1185) as a cuirass for foot soldiers. In the Muro-
machi period (1333-1573), as mounted archers
were superseded by infantry pikemen and swords-
men, high-ranking warriors replaced their earlier,
more cumbersome armor with the domaru, sup-
plementing the cuirass with one-piece shoulder-
and-arm guards of similar construction, and a
2 56 helmet. The whole was called a "three-piece set"
skirt or mantle; this sloped downward and acted as (mitsumono).
a flange to hold the kettle on its support within HANGING LANTERN The standard domaru cuirass was a lamellar
the ro (fire pit) during winter or on the furo sheath around the chest and belly, fastened at the
(brazier) during midyear. The cover is a bronze dated to 1550
replacement for the lost original iron lid. Japanese bronze wearer's front right, with an attached lamellar
cast
skirt of eight panels (for ease of movement) pro-
ajoure
Between the skirt and the lip of the kettle is a height 29.7 fn /4J
3
relief decoration of pine trees against an allover tecting the thighs. Most of the lames were lac-
with
quered leather,
iron at critical
interspersed
pattern of relief dots (J: arare; hailstones), the Tokyo National Museum points; the individual lames were tied into hori-
whole hand-carved into the interior of the mold in In 1910 this cast bronze lantern was excavated on zontal bands, which in turn were laced together
which the kettle was cast. The result is a graceful, the grounds of Chiba Temple in Chiba city to the vertically. Braided cords, often (as here) of silk,
native style image (yamato-e) of bending pines east of Tokyo. An inscription on the top surface of were used for the lacing. An iron border, usually
growing along an undulating sand beach. The the headpiece of the lantern indicates that it was ornamented, sometimes leather-clad, edged the
pine beach (hamamatsu) was a common motif in cast in 1550 for use in the Aizen-do of the temple. top of the cuirass, and similarly decorated iron
the arts of the Muromachi period. The dark pur- Extant examples of lanterns of this excellent qual- plates hung from the shoulder guards to protect
plish color of the iron surface, often found on ity and style were produced by the Temmyo the shoulder straps of the cuirass.
Chikuzen-Ashiya kettles, is highly prized. metalworkers of Sano in Tochigi Prefecture during This domaru is a representative three-piece set.
S.E.L.
the mid-sixteenth century. It has been suggested Red is the main color of the leather lames; the
that this lantern may also have originated in the shoulder and chest areas are corded with light blue
same workshop. and white, the skirt with white only. Different-
Headpiece, body, and base are all hexagonal, colored cording for the sleeves and skirt was
though not identical in conformation. A "flaming particularly popular in the Muromachi period.
jewel" finial, pierced for hanging, tops the head- Braided silk cords were expensive, as were the gilt
piece. From the center the headpiece slopes in bronze openwork arabesque and paulownia-shaped
a regular, gentle curve to a hexagonal edge, with studs ornamenting the solid iron edges of the
the six angles slightly upturned. Three so-called cuirass and shoulder guards.

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