Samurai Helmet

Samurai Helmet Cord

Russet iron 62-plate samurai helmet with vertical ridges (tetsu sabiji roku-ju-ni ken suji tate-bachi kabuto) belonging to a suit of samurai fighting armor. A six-stage fixture (tehen-no-kanamono) sits atop the helmet bowl and curves to conform to the shape of the helmet. The first tier of the tehen-no-kanamono is of openwork chrysanthemum flowers while the other tiers simulate chrysanthemum petals. The protective metal visor (mabizashi) is attached to the helmet bowl with three large, flattened rivets and two smaller ones at the sides. The visor is undecorated save for the gold molding (fukurin) around the rim. A large, decorative, orange bow (agemaki) is attached to a metal ring on the back plate of the helmet bowl. The intact helmet lining (ukebari) is made of orange cloth with a hole in the back revealing a signature and an orange helmet cord attached. A five lame, ko-manju style neck guard (shikoro) is attached to the helmet bowl with eight rivets, set in four pairs over decorative, gold, chrysanthemum, base plates. Each iron lame is made up of many small, "true scales" (hon kozane) meticulously bound together to form a solid lame, then coated with black lacquer. The backside of each lame is painted gold. The first (top) lame connects to the second with tan silk lacing, the second lame to the third with light blue lacing, and the remaining lames with dark blue lacing. This gradient pattern with the lightest color at the top and darkest at the bottom is called susogu-odoshi, and is inherently laced in the kebiki-odoshi style. The bottom lame also showcases a row of tweed lacing above the bottom row of orange lacing in a cross knot pattern. Two forward-facing wings (fukigaeshi) emerge from the top lame of the neck guard. An additional metal plate has been attached to the fukigaeshi, making them especially wide. The inner section is covered with two different types of dyed and stenciled leather, as well as seven ridged, bullet-shaped rivets. The outer sections of the fukigaeshi are painted gold and repeat the same lacing pattern of the lowest lame of the shikoro. Signed, 明珍紀宗親, Myochin Munechika (late Edo period) inside the rear plate of the helmet bowl.