Silk cords and hinges gave a warrior the flexibility to lift and aim a bow or twist around to swing a sword. Metal plates deflected blows, while the divided skirt made it possible for soldiers to fight more effectively on horseback. Samurai armor was brilliantly responsive to a fighter’s need for both protection and freedom of movement. Many armorers went unrecognized, but those employed by wealthy clans, or heads of important workshops, signed their work. They brought equal attention to the elaborate decoration that created a harmonious and instantly recognizable status symbol for its owner. At every step, they made choices about materials and how to fashion and assemble the many elements that make up one suit. Specialized artisans-metalsmiths, leather and lacquer workers, weavers, and embroiderers-labored for months to create all the different components. Iron, lacquer, gold and copper alloy ( shakudō ), gold, silver, copper, bronze, silk, and leatherĪ full suit of armor was a huge investment, and samurai who could afford it went to great expense to obtain a striking and distinctly personal ensemble. 1530 (helmet) early to mid-Edo period, seventeenth –eighteenth century (mask) Signed by Hōrai Kunichika (helmet) signed by Myōchin Muneaki (mask) The shogun and daimyo, who comprised the governing military nobility, were also “samurai,” as the term came to denote skilled, educated, and refined warriors. They were subordinate to their individual daimyo, who oversaw many Japanese provinces. Theirs was a culture of fearsome contradictions: expert archers and swordsmen, they were also poets and scholars who were schooled in literature and the arts. The samurai lived by a code that valued honor, loyalty, bravery, and willingness to die. During the era of the shogunate, power resided not at the imperial court but with the supreme military commander, the shogun. Starting in the late twelfth century, when powerful families seized control, the warrior class known as samurai (“those who serve”) alternately fought for power or enforced peace. Iron, gold and copper alloy ( shakudō ), gold, silver, lacing, fur, silk, lacquer, leather, bronze, and woodįor seven centuries, the samurai ruled Japan. Nanbokuchō period, 1333–1392 (helmet) mid-Edo period, eighteenth century (suit)
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