Navy blue menpo to match yoroi armor in pic

[waljamada]

greetings, wondering if anyone has a blue menpo they are willing to part with.

[b.hennick]

Do you actually want a blue face protector?

[waljamada]

Barry, Yes, if possible. I think staying with the navy blue color for the menpo as well would be ideal. The color of first moments of dawn and the last of dusk.

 

Black and red would also work for me. I'm open as long as they seem to match to me. I also don't mind one with a bunch of imperfections. That also matches the armor. Found this one I received a counter on but I'm not sure if its worth what they are asking.

[Bugyotsuji]

Adam, a blue menpo would be as rare as hen's teeth, I reckon. Not sure if I have even/ever seen one.

 

Colour matching was often more subtly done by the Odoshi strings.

 

Lacquer colour, consistency and/or pattern often flowed through matching sets. If your menpo lacquer matches the dou and the kabuto, and if the odoshi are 藍 Ai (indigo) then you will have done well. 

[waljamada]

Piers, appreciate the insight. Ok ill widen my search and just look for one that has accent colors to match the armor set. That makes the menpo I posted above work a bit better actually. What would a fair price for the menpo above be? Perhaps I am undervaluing it with my offers.

[Bugyotsuji]

Adam, menpo were rarer and possibly the last thing to complete a set. Many sets came without a menpo. Personally I would want to source a kabuto first. Then it would be easier to see what kind of menpo could match in between them.

 

Your dou in the photos looks to be brown lacquer, yes/no? If so, I would look for a menpo in a) naked russet iron 鉄錆地 Tetsu-sabi-ji (red or black inside) or b) russet-effect lacquer 鉄錆地塗 Tetsu-sabi-ji-nuri, with blue odoshi ito. That would also allow for a wide variety of Kabuto.

 

Of course nothing is absolute in the Japanese aesthetic, and you can break the convention if you feel confident enough in what you are doing.

[waljamada]

Piers, the armor is some kind of navy blue laquer. So ill look for a menpo that has a navy blue string to match it.

 

In terms of the kabuto I'm not so sure I actually want one. I almost like the idea of a floating menpo above the armor more, a bit more minimalistic.

 

I will however keep my eye open for a kabuto and I prefer the simpler variations. I might however go for a matching pair of sode at some point as well.

[waljamada]

After looking at it really closely I'm going to say my armors color is actually black laquer and blue accents. The blue accent color tricked my eye. So that menpo above might really work. Is $580 too much for the above menpo? (Wish it had teeth) I'd be paying almost double for the menpo than I did for the armor but it appears they are more scarce so therefore the commanding price would be higher.

[waljamada]

Not quite what I was aiming for but I like it. Any opinions on this one?