Armor (<i>Gusoku</i>)

Saotome Ietada

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This armor reflects several waves of Western influence in Japan. The helmet, modeled on a late sixteenth-century Dutch cabasset, is by the Japanese armorer Saotome Ietada, whose signature is found inside the bowl. The cuirass appears to be of early nineteenth-century European manufacture. These older elements, completed by more modern ones, were decorated with Buddhist divinities and literary figures by a Japanese craftsman using etching, which is a Western process. The helmet bears the badge of the Arima family, daimyo (lords) of Kurume.

Arms and Armor

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The principal goals of the Arms and Armor Department are to collect, preserve, research, publish, and exhibit distinguished examples representing the art of the armorer, swordsmith, and gunmaker. Arms and armor have been a vital part of virtually all cultures for thousands of years, pivotal not only in conquest and defense, but also in court pageantry and ceremonial events. Throughout time the best armor and weapons have represented the highest artistic and technical capabilities of the society and period in which they were made, forming a unique aspect of both art history and material culture.

Metropolitan Museum of Art