Inscribed: “Made in the second month of the sixth year, Tensho era [1578], by Myochin Morisuke.”

This rare complete suit of armor carries the name of one of the greatest armorers of the Momoyama period. It was a time of intense civil struggle in Japan, and increasingly warfare involved the use of lances and muskets, which had been introduced by the Portuguese. The warrior was protected against these weapons by armor fashioned from iron, silk, and wood splints, made lighter and more flexible by construction of thin plates of materials. The helmet is decorated with a paulownia leaf, the crest (mon) of the lord the warrior served. The cuirass is made in two halves, a front and back, hinged at the warrior’s left side and tied on the right. Adapting a feature of Western armor, the armorer has added a solid plate of iron to the front of the cuirass; he then embossed it with a dragon. The pendant hipguards were made using narrow plates, four at the front and five at the back, fastened with laces to the bottom of the cuirass. For a brief period around the time this armor was made, small shoulder guards replaced the traditional larger ones, which were deemed heavy and inconvenient. The shinguards are made of fabric-covered wood splints. On the back of the cuirass is a bracket that would have carried a flag on which the mon was displayed. In the heat of battle such a flag was the surest way of distinguishing friend from foe.


(For Grades K-2)

What material(s) is this sculpture made out of? (Iron, silk, brocade)

If you touched this work of art how would it feel? Would it be soft or hard? Rough or smooth? Different depending on which part you touch?

Do you think this work of art is supposed to be used or was it made just to look at?