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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Japan, Room 45, The Toshiba Gallery

Suit of Armour in Haramaki Style

Suit of Armour
ca. 1850 (assembled)
Place of origin

Suit of armour in haramaki or 'belly-wrapping' style. The haramaki type of armour differed from the oyoroi and domaru in that it fastened at the back, the fastening being usually protected by a narrow back plate (sei-ita); the small tapering shoulder-guards are also typical. The helmet of sixty-two plates with standing rivets, decorated in soft metals with the spatulate ornaments called shinodare, is signed by Ietada, a member of the distinguished Saotome family of armourers who was active in the late sixteenth century. The armour as a whole was probably assembled in the mid-nineteenth century, when there was a vogue for accurate reproductions of earlier styles.

An inscription inside the box which holds this suit records that the armour was made for a member of the Akitsuki family of Takanabe in the southern island of Kyushu. However, the family crest on the box does not match the crest on the fukigaeshi.

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Object details

Category
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 14 parts.
(Some alternative part names are also shown below)
  • Suit of Armour
  • Japanese: Haramaki
  • Helmet
  • Japanese: Kabuto
  • Mask
  • Japanese: Menpo
  • Shin Guard
  • Japanese: Suneate
  • Shin Guard
  • Japanese: Suneate
  • Storage Box, Carcase
  • Japanese: Yoroi Bitsu
  • Backplate
  • Japanese: Sei-Ita
  • Shoulder Guard
  • Japanese: Sode
  • Shoulder Guard
  • Japanese: Sode
  • Armoured Bodice
  • Japanese: Manchira
  • Armoured Sleeve
  • Japanese: Kote
  • Armoured Sleeve
  • Japanese: Kote
  • Armoured Thigh Protector
  • Japanese: Haidate
  • Storage Box, Lid
  • Japanese: Yoroi Bitsu
TitleSuit of Armour in Haramaki Style (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Physical description
Suit of armour of iron, gilded metal, stencilled leather and silk, with black lacquering: stored in a gold and black-lacquered box.
Marks and inscriptions
Ietada ((Saotome) Ietada; active c.1550.)
Credit line
Given by Mr H. R. Robinson
Summary
Suit of armour in haramaki or 'belly-wrapping' style. The haramaki type of armour differed from the oyoroi and domaru in that it fastened at the back, the fastening being usually protected by a narrow back plate (sei-ita); the small tapering shoulder-guards are also typical. The helmet of sixty-two plates with standing rivets, decorated in soft metals with the spatulate ornaments called shinodare, is signed by Ietada, a member of the distinguished Saotome family of armourers who was active in the late sixteenth century. The armour as a whole was probably assembled in the mid-nineteenth century, when there was a vogue for accurate reproductions of earlier styles.

An inscription inside the box which holds this suit records that the armour was made for a member of the Akitsuki family of Takanabe in the southern island of Kyushu. However, the family crest on the box does not match the crest on the fukigaeshi.
Bibliographic reference
Dufty, A R,Exhibition of Japanese ArmourLondon, 1965 p.6, Cat.22
Collection
Accession number
M.95:1 to 14-1955

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Record createdJune 25, 2009
Record URL
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