IanB

Ed, Although it may have been put together a long time ago, what you have here is an Etchu hanbo to which an upper part has been added. The filed lines on the lower part are a give-away. Ian Bottomley

All, I recently had a major purchase from this seller and had nothing but the most courteous service from him. Not only was the item exactly as described and photographed, he went out of his way to give me a better price than I had initially offered, and he also sent regular emails informing me of the progress he was making in obtaining all the required export documents. I'm sure that in the case of this yari he does not know exactly what he is selling. If my memory serves, his shop tends to be mainly ceramics and the like. Ian Bottomley

Ed, What is often called an 'archer's helmet' because of the hinged fukigayeshi, although why make both of them hinged? The use of kylin as decoration is unusual, but that may be an Edo enhancement. Having said that, it was more normal during the Edo period to engrave the outline of the design before applying the gold and silver. I could go with Momoyama as well. Ian Bottomley

Ed, Wondeful pair of sode - makes you wonder what the rest of the armour was like. I note the kanamono on the top plate are shakudo, another sign of quality. This kind of embossed work is normally Myochin, but they were inveterate advertisers and I am surprised they are not signed. I have seen a few examples where signed Myochin panels have been incorporated into the work of others. The Royal Armouries have a pair of sode with russet panels superbly embossed with Bishamon on one and Fudo Myo - o on the other. They are signed and dated by Myochin Muneakira (if I have remembered correctly) but clearly mounted on Kaga sode. The other is an obviously Unkai armour (again Kaga) with a signed embossed plate by Muneakira on the front. The Myochin clearly did a bit of trade in supplying these embossed panels to Kaga armourers. Since there were no Myochin working in Kaga until the end of the 18th century, it would suggest there was quite a bit of co-operation between the various armour making groups from different areas. Ian Bottomley

Matt, I don't think you will be that impressed at the British Museum either. I went there last year to look at some armour they had in store and took a look at their display whist I was there. Considering that they have hundreds of swords, many of which have recently been re-polished and re-furbished, to see only one armour and one or two swords on display is disappointing. You might try the Tower of London. They ave at least an armour of Takeda Katsuyori on show plus a couple of sword blades. Being the Tower, most space is dedicated to items from its history. The bulk of the Royal Armouries' collection is in Leeds where there are about 15 blades on show. Ian Bottomley

Thomas, Two of the armours in Denmark came to Europe with the Tensho mission and were a gift to Francisco de Medici of Florence. I do not know exactly when they left Italy but one is depicted in a painting by Jan Brueghel the Younger (1601-1678) and Hendrick van Balen (1575-1632) entitled ‘Allegory of Touch’ preserved in the Musèe Calvat, Avignon. It would seem that it was painted about 1630 whilst it was on its way to Denmark. There are also some strange swords with lacquered hilts like Dha, but in katana and wakizashi saya. I suspect these were trade goods with SE Asia. Ian

All, There is also an event at the Tower of London on the 14th September 2013. The programme starts with me kicking off with the gift armours given to Europeans (Spain, Bohemia, Italy France) by the Tensho and Keicho missions as well as the gift to King James I (and VI) by Tokugawa Hidetada and the gifts to the Dutch etc. Other items on the menu are: The 'Dragon saddle' , Henry V and Sigismund - Karen Watts Henry VIII and the gift armour from Maximilian (horned helmet) - Graeme Rimer Gifts of arms to the Spanish and Russian courts by the Stuarts - Guy Wilson The Asian arms collections of Michiel De Ruyter and Cornelis Tromp - Eveline Sint Nicolass Gifts of arms to the Prince Regent from the Bey of Algiers - Neils Anderson The East India Co gift to the Tower of London in 1851 - Thom Richardson and Natasha Bennet Diplomatic gifts of Japanese arms and armour in the 19th C. - Greg Irvine Should be a good event - there are some good topics here. Ian Bottomley

Piers et al, Yes it's I who will be kicking off this seminar. It will of course mean I shall have to redeem the suit from the pawn-brokers before the event, and buy a pair of new socks - but needs must. One of the King James I (and VI) armours, which I have proved to my own satisfaction belonged to Takeda Katsuyori, lives at the Tower and is permanently on show. The other, on loan from the Royal Collection, will probably remain in Leeds since moving it would require Royal approval. There is also the mogami haramaki, which may be moved from Leeds to the Tower for the event. At this stage I know not. That armour we know was given to King Philip II of Spain in 1585 and had belonged to a member of the Shimazu family. Historic stuff! Ian Bottomley

Piers, My guess it was used in Europe for un-mentionable items that I understand were worn by chaps of the other gender. Ian Bottomley

Roy, I re-did the fabric on one exactly like yours for dear old Bill Galeno. He had bought it devoid of any lining and it looked wrong. I have one like that shown by Eric with the hanging cheek pieces -which i themselves are an interesting example of parallel development. The cheek pieces are virtually the same shape as those on some Roman helmets. Mine has a row of holes along the rear edge of the upper plate and I have always thought it probably had a mail hood at one time. Ian Bottomley

Dear ?, In future could you please sign your posts so we know who we are replying to. The medallions you have illustrated are of exceptional quality but probably not from an armour. I say probably because I have long ago learned never to say never. Being bronze they would have limited defensive value, hence they would have been used decoratively. You do get similar roundels fixed to the front of dou but they are usually about 10" or more in diameter and are normally embossed from sheet rather than being cast. I am curious about the coating on the back of the one with the label. It looks like fired enamel that has mainly flaked off. The holes you mention must be very small but I think I can see a couple in the back view. If that is the case, it suggests they were sewn onto a fabric or leather background - but just what can only be speculation. Unless they were made to adorn something for the tourist trade, all I can suggest is they may have been attached to a harness or perhaps something used in a religious context Ian Bottomley

Piers, You brave man - sitting on a horse. The guy with the utsubo reminds me of the day I watched the villagers at Nikko preparing for their Spring Grand Festival. Having stood around whilst the gold lacquered armours were dragged out and put on, I noted the 'archers' were tying on their utsubo diagonally across their backs with the door at the top (they are not real utsubo by the way but solid replicas). When I mentioned they should be the other way up at the right waist I was given pitying looks to the effect - what does a gaijin know about our heritage. They then proceeded to show me how you reached over your shoulder to draw an arrow out in the finest Robin Hood tradition as depicted by Hollywood. I have the pictures of about 30 guys marching with them tied on in this position. This when 50 yards away in Nikko's museum are superb paintings of the procession done during the early 20th century showing utsubo being worn properly. It was from these paintings I learned what the loop of cord is for at the upper end of these quivers. I had always thought they were to hand the things up with (another pitying look) . No, it was for a cord that passed over the left shoulder and tied off to the armour to keep the top end of the utsubo up in the air at the right angle to allow you to draw the arrows out. Ian Bottomley

Piers, It is part of a pack harness. For some reason they always seem to be red lacquered with lots of gold touches. Just how and where on a gee-gee this particular part fits I have no idea. I'm sure Eric will have at least six complete sets stashed away. Ian Bottomley

Uwe, Yes I think it is metal because it has kept its shape. If it had been neri gawa I think the bowl itself would have warped like the shikoro. Ian

Mike, I have been beaten to it by Uwe but here is what I wrote -The shaped upper edges of the plates of the shikoro (neck guard) and the zaboshi (the standing rivets and washers with radiating lines) show that this is a helmet made in the province of Kaga. As to the date, the general shape is looking back to earlier centuries, a fashion that started around the second half of the 18th century and continued into the early decades of the 19th century. The principle armourers for the Kaga Han were the Haruta but by the 1780's the Myochin, Iwai and Bamen groups were also starting to establish themselves there. The helmet is definitely not Bamen in style. If pushed I would say it is more like the type the Myochin were likely to produce. Sadly there is absolutely no way to rescue the shikoro. Once the rawhide plates have twisted and warped like that it is beyond recovery. The helmet bowl itself is also in poor shape with the lacquer flaking and cracking. All you can do is try and keep it in an environment where the humidity and temperature is as stable as possible to prevent further degeneration. Ian Bottomley

Jack, Welcome to the group. Yours looks like a Nagamichi kabuto with the three columns of rivets on the front plate. It also has the precision one would expect. I wouldn't worry that it is not signed, the bowl speaks for itself. I have never been happy with the various explanations as to why something, whether sword or armour, is or isn't signed. Perhaps it was a specific order from someone of high rank; who knows? I have just been struggling with who made the two famous Daikoku helmeted armours of Tokugawa Iyeyasu, both of which are unsigned. Kunozan Toshogu Shrine claim the one they have was made by Iwai Yosaemon and that he was armourer to Ieyasu. He certainly made at least four of the armours given to European royalty by Ieyasu, and signed them in red lacquer on the inside of the shikoro and inside the muneita, but he didn't sign the Daikoku armour - if he made them, why not. The four armours given as gifts are all do-maru or honkozane ni mai do with akodanari kabuto and o-sode - totally at variance with the Daikoku armours which are nuinobe do. Kunozan Toshogu claim he worn their armour at Seki ga hara whereas Nikko Toshogu claim he wore the namban armour they have. It is all very confusing. Ian Bottomley

Uwe, In a way yes. The armourer, especially in the Edo period, would design the armour, buy in raw materials such as plate, cut the plates out and shape them. I doubt he would waste his time drilling holes or making the mail. Even today much Japanese manufacture is based on sub-contracting. Walk around parts of Tokyo today and you will see whole families working a massive press in their house making parts for companies like Nissan or Toyota. Ian

Ruben, A very interesting book indeed. I've seen some of the illustrations elsewhere but others are fascinating. I especially like the details about air-guns. The air reservoirs look a bit like those made by Girandoni for the Austrian army in the late 1700's but the lock mechanism looks earlier. Ian Bottomley

Uwe, Like Dave says - three gessan in front and four at the rear. The marked plates are interesting. No doubt done to ensure the person assembling the plates with the mail got them in the right places. I doubt the armourer did any assembly of the mail - it was probably out-sourced, like the drilling of holes and similar repetitive jobs. Ian Bottomley

Uwe, That is an interesting find but not too surprising, armourers were often very frugal with their fabrics. It is common on pieces like suneate to paste a strip of brocade onto the core fabric where it will show through the mail but have nothing under the plates. It was I suppose a way of using up all the off-cuts of fabric from the other parts of the armour. I have also seen pieces of paper pasted onto the core, under the finishing fabric where there was no need for a great amount of flexibility such as the upper arm area. These pieces are usually just old documents but on one wrecked sleeve I found a piece of paper with Buddhist texts and various seals on it inserted between the layers of fabric. I assume this guaranteed the wearer would be far better protected. There is a Myochin armour in the Royal Armouries collection with the kamon of a member of the Matsudaira family that has almost every available space on it covered with religious invocations and references to Shinto and Buddhist shrines. A nervous individual I suspect Ian Bottomley

Paul, You have worked so hard to advance your knowledge of swords, you deserve more than a few words of praise that I could give. Brilliant Ian Bottomley

Fujiwara Masashige is listed in Kei Kaneda Chappelear's book as working in Suo during the mid Edo period where he is described a member of the Myochin group. In Sasama's 'Shin Katchushi Meikan' he is listed as an Haruta smith working in the mid Edo period in Suo. Ian Bottomley

Justin, Hata sashimono do turn up but they are often in poor shape because many were silk. I have one in hemp that appears old, but has had the original stitching across the middle re-done on a sewing machine (although the sewing around the edge and so forth are hand done). How old it really is is difficult to say, so many were made for festivals and the like in recent times. By chance I have just dug out the major part of a non-flag sashimono that I acquired years ago. This takes the form of a black lacquered pole with gilded mounts topped by a trefoil shaped block covered in gilded copper. This block has slots to hold 'feathers' or some such ornaments. I have decided to make some paper and bamboo feathers to fit the slots. Should be fun if nothing else. Ian Bottomley

I too am sure it is Kaga work. Looking at the way the lacquer is recessed inside there has obviously been an extra plate attached to the cheeks. Whether this bridged across the gap and extended into a nose we cannot now say with any confidence, but for what it is worth, my suggestion is that it once had a tengu nose. I say this because of the way the lower lip rises in the centre. Whatever, it has been a very fine piece of work. Ian Bottomley

Uwe, It was the rule to intersperse a rawhide scale between each iron one. This was also true way back. The idea is that the iron scales stop penetration of say an arrow, the hide scale between absorbing the energy by being compressed. Ian