To forget about the heat, I will probably draw
Even though it's snowing on Fuji!
Kisoku
Armor and weapons of the samurai of Japan. To begin with, remember that all photographs that do not have a signature on the belonging of a given exhibit to a particular museum belong to the Tokyo National Museum. So we will continue our acquaintance with his collections today.
Last time we stopped at Japanese armor from the Nambokucho era (1336-1392). Which, however, did not bring peace to the country. The Kamakura shogunate made a serious mistake, allowing the local nobility to strengthen to a dangerous level. The emperor, who had long dreamed of regaining power, made a bet on the disaffected, and a great turmoil began in the country. The large daimyo landowners became practically independent of the shogunate's authority and were able to support entire armies. There were not enough samurai to serve in them, and they began to recruit peasants en masse into their troops. And the peasants just needed this. Having learned to wield weapons, they began to organize one uprising after another: in 1428, 1441, 1447, 1451, 1457 and 1461. Peasant detachments of pre-ikki even broke into the streets of Kyoto, and the government made concessions to them. And then a war began between the clans - the Onin-Bummei war (1467-1477), and it was then that it became clear that the old armor needed a number of improvements.
The Nambokucho era and what happened afterwards
The samurai did not take them off for weeks now and fought a lot, not as horsemen, but as infantrymen. And they obviously have more enemies! They just became the armed peasants - ashigaru ("light-footed"), albeit armed somehow, but strong in their numbers. Many of them fought half-naked, but used large swords - no-dachi, with which they struck terrible blows.
A real samurai prefers real records! Or not?
Need is the best engine of progress. And the history of military affairs in Japan confirms this once again. After the war, Onin-Bummei, the first armor appears that meets the new conditions of warfare. They began to be called mogami-do (this was the name of the area where they first began to be produced), which differed from all the previous ones in that their cuirass began to consist not of plates connected with cords, but of five or seven metal strips on the chest and on the back. They were also connected by lacing, but more rare, called sukage-odoshi. The armor began to use large plates of kiritsuke-kozane and kiritsuke-iyozane, the upper part of which resembled a "fence" of separate kozane and iyozane plates, but below these "teeth" there was already solid metal! Naturally, wealthy samurai at first despised these "deceptive armor", they say, we can also order hon-kozane do - "armor made of real small plates", but gradually mogami-do became a very popular type of protective weapon. It is clear that the armor made according to the old patterns was much more expensive! After all, Japan has always been a country of good old traditions!
Another transitional type from the old armor to the armor of the new era, which then became known as "tosei-gusoku", that is, "modern armor", turned out to be nuinobe-do. In it, large fake yozane plates were connected with a rare weaving of sugake-odoshi. Then the imagination of the Japanese gunsmiths created an even completely unusual armor - dangage-do, in which there were small plates at the bottom of the cuirass, in the middle of the strip of false plates, and at the top - two rows of kiritsuke-kozane plates.
The first half of the 16th century in Japan's arms industry was a time of a kind of revolution associated with the appearance of okegawa-do armor. In them, horizontally located plates for the first time began to be connected not by cords, but by forging, which, however, led to the appearance of a large number of their varieties. For example, if the heads of the rivets connecting the stripes were visible, then it was kakari-do armor.
"Modern armor" XVI-XIX centuries
In the yokohagi-okegawa-do, the cuirass plates were located horizontally, but in the tatehagi-okegawa-do - vertically. Yukinoshita-do, the armor by the name of the place where the famous gunsmith Miochin Hizae (1573-1615) lived at one time, differed from all others in a box-shaped form, since it consisted of one-piece forged sections connected by hinges, which was very convenient. since they were easy to disassemble and it was convenient to store them. Moreover, the watagami were already all-metal, including gyyo plates and small kohire shoulder pads attached to this armor, also on hinges.
Especially this armor (which also had the names kanto-do and sendai-do) became popular in the Edo period, when the famous commander Date Masamune (1566-1636) dressed his entire army in sendai-do. And he did not just put it on: all the armor was the same, for warriors of higher and lower ranks, and differed only in the quality of finishing! Armor with a forged cuirass was called hotoke-do, but there were also very curious varieties of them. For example, the armor of nyo-do, or "Buddha's torso" is known, with a cuirass depicting a naked human torso, moreover, of an ascetic build, and even painted in a flesh color.
But this armor is a rare example of the "new armor" of the early Edo period (17th century) with a cuirass that mimics a torso with a bare chest. It is believed that such cuirasses were not only a means to somehow show themselves on the battlefield, but were made with the aim of … to scare the enemy or, at least, to surprise him [/center]
Breastplate katahada-nugi-do ("half-naked shell") was a combination of two styles: ne-do and tachi-do. Imitates the act of a Buddhist monk: the ne-do plate on the right depicted a body, and on the left it was fastened to a regular shell made of sané plates, imitating a monastic robe. Edward Bryant, however, believed that in fact it was just a kimono torn in a fierce battle …
Trade with the Portuguese allowed the Japanese to become familiar with European armor. They did not completely borrow them, but they liked the cuirasses and helmets. Using them as a basis, Japanese gunsmiths created a very original type of armor, called namban-do ("armor of the southern barbarians"), which, although made according to the European model, but with all the traditional Japanese details. For example, the hatamune-do armor consisted of a European cuirass with a stiffening rib, but had a "skirt" attached to it - kusazuri. And again, the surface of European armor has always been varnished and painted. Moreover, the most popular colors were black and brown. Japanese craftsmen did not recognize pure white metal!
The cuirass and helmet are imported, and for some reason a cabasset-type helmet is turned 180 degrees! This armor was given to him by Tokugawa Ieyasu just before the Battle of Sekigahara (1600), and from then on it was in the Sakakibara family until it got to the Tokyo National Museum. The armor had Japanese shikoro (neck guard hanging from the helmet) and hikimawashi (shikoro adornment) made from white yak hair. The iron breastplate has the same shape as the European breastplate, but both sides of the waist are cut to make it shorter. The helmet is complemented by a hoate mask, kote (bracers), haidate (protection for the thighs and knees) and suneate (protection for the lower leg) of local manufacture. On the left and right of the helmet, the family coat of arms of Sakakibara "Genjiguruma" (varnish sprinkled with gold powder) is depicted. However, since it is unlikely that these coats of arms were made before Ieyasu gave this armor to Sakakibara Yasumasa, they were probably placed on him later. It belongs to the important objects of cultural heritage.
Literature
1. Kure M. Samurai. Illustrated history. M.: AST / Astrel, 2007.
2. Turnbull S. Military history of Japan. M.: Eksmo, 2013.
3. Turnbull S. Symbols of Japanese samurai. Moscow: AST / Astrel, 2007.
4. Shpakovsky V. Atlas of the samurai. M.: Rosmen-Press, 2005.
5. Shpakovsky V. Samurai. The first complete encyclopedia. M.: E / Yauza, 2016.
6. Bryant E. Samurai. M.: AST / Astrel, 2005.
7. Nosov K. Armament of the samurai. M.: AST / Polygon, 2003.
