Japanese Armor (Yoroi)- Early 14th Century

Brief Identification[]

The Yoroi is characterized by a cuirass that wraps around the body and is closed by a separate panel (waidate) on the right side and by a deep four-sided skirt. This Japanese samurai armor (Yoroi) dates back to the late Kamakura Period of the early fourteenth century. According to tradition, this armor is said to have belonged to Takauji Ashikaga (1305-1358), founder of the Ashikaga Shogunate. (1336-1573). It is believed that the Yoroi was donated to the Shinomura Hachimangū, a shrine near Kyoto by Ashikaga Takauji. The Yoroi is currently located at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) and is currently on view at the Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 377.

Technical Evaluation[]

As exhibited today, the Yoroi consists yarrrrrrrrrrr helmet and cuirass with a skirt. The cuirass retains its characteristic shoulder straps, the right one of lamellar construction, the left one of solid iron. The front of the cuirass and the mail panel of the waidate are covered with stencil-dyed doeskin; the design on the breast includes the image of Fūdo Myōō, a Buddhist deity representing the god of war. Most of the lacings have been lost, but those that remain enable researchers to identify the armor would have had been covered mostly in white fabric, but also would have had multicolored lacings arranged in a diagonal pattern on the corners of the skirt and on the edges of the shoulder guards. The colored laces presumably allude to a rainbow, which represents beauty and good fortune [See Ogawa 1989, 75].

Yoroi crafting techniques progressed during the Muromachi Period (1392-1573), because of technological advancements. This Yoroi was made with the new knobless ridged helmet (suji-kabuto) and were otherwise affected by the reduction in weight. This meant that the sendan and kyūbi were made somewhat narrower and many of the metal fittings were made smaller. Splints frequently took the place of solid plates on the sleeves, and mail, a very distinctive Japanese form round oval links, made its appearance on the scene [See Robinson 1969, 23].

This piece was donated to the MET from the private collection of Bashford Dean (1867-1928) in 1914. Dean was a Zoology professor at Columbia University, and the first curator of the Department of Arms and Armor at the MET.

Local Historical Context[]

Ashikaga mon — Symbol of the Ashikaga Shogunate

Nanbokucho Period[]

The Nanbokucho Period (1336-1392) was known as the period of Southern and Northern Courts. In 1333, a coalition of supporters of Emperor Go-Daigo (1288–1339), who sought to restore political power to the throne, toppled the Kamakura Regime. Unable to rule effectively, this new royal government was short-lived. In 1336, a member of a branch family of the Minamoto clan, Ashikaga Takauji (alleged owner of this Yoroi), usurped control and drove Go-Daigo from Kyoto. Takauji then set a rival on the throne and established a new military government in Kyoto. Meanwhile, Go-Daigo traveled south and took refuge in Yoshino. There he established the Southern Court, in contrast to the rival Northern Court supported by Takauji [See Mason Craiger 1974, 139]. During the time of Takauji Ashikaga, Japan remained divided between the two courts, and it was not until the time of the third Ashikaga shogun, Yoshimitsu Ashikaga (1358-1408) that it was reunited. During Yoshimitsu's time, the Ashikaga Shogunate had managed to extend its control over a large portion of the country. As a result, the southern court was persuaded in 1392 to return to Kyoto and merge with the Northern Court, with the understanding that the imperial throne would be occupied alternately by the descendants of the two courts. This promise, however, was not kept by the Northern Court, and since that time only its descendants occupied the throne [See Hane 1991, 88-89].

World-Historical Significance[]

This armor also shows the impact of Buddhist diffusion into Japan. As mentioned before, the design on the breast includes the image of Fūdo Myōō, a Buddhist deity representing the god of war. This deity's attributes of calmness and inner strength were highly prized by the samurai [2]. The type of Buddhism most prominent in Japan during the late Kamakura and Muromachi Periods was Zen Buddhism. Zen traces its origins to India, but it was formalized in China. Chan, as it is known in China, was transmitted to Japan and took root there in the thirteenth century. Chan was enthusiastically received in Japan, especially by the samurai class that wielded political power at this time, and it became the most prominent form of Buddhism between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries [See Vallor 2016, 102]. The immigrant Chinese prelates were educated men, who introduced not only religious practices but also Chinese literature, calligraphy, philosophy, and ink painting to their Japanese disciples, who often in turn traveled to China for further study [3.]

The Kamakura Period (1185-1392), which directly preceded the Muromachi Period , marked a gradual shift of power from the nobility to the land owning military men in their provinces [1.] This era was a time of dramatic transformation in the politics, society, and culture of Japan. The bakufu, or government by warrior chieftains (shogun) or their regents, controlled the country from their base in Kamakura, near modern Tokyo. Because the emperor remained the titular head of state in his capital in Kyoto, a binary system of government, whereby emperors reigned but shoguns ruled, was established and endured for the next seven centuries.

Bibliography[]

Hane, Mikiso. Premodern Japan: A Historical Survey. Boulder: Westview Press, 1991.

Mason, R. H. P., and J. G. Caiger. A History of Japan. New York: Free Press, 1974.

Ogawa, Morihiro. "A Famous Fourteenth-Century Japanese Armor." Metropolitan Museum Journal, 1989., 75, JSTOR Journals, EBSCOhost (accessed November 13, 2016).

Robinson, H. Russell. Japanese Arms & Armor. New York: Crown, 1969.

Vallor, M. (2016) Waka and Zen in Medieval Japan. Religion Compass, 10: 101–117. doi: 10.1111/rec3.12196.

"Armor (Yoroi)," http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/22506

Britannica Online, "Ashikaga Yoshimitsu," https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ashikaga-Yoshimitsu

"China," https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html

"Evolution of Japanese Armor," https://myarmoury.com/feature_jpn_armour.php

"Fūdo Myōō," http://www.japanese-buddhism.com/fudo-myo-o.html

"India," https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html

Metropolitan Museum of Art, “Kamakura and Nanbokucho Periods (1185–1392),” http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/kana/hd_kana.htm

Metropolitan Museum of Art, "Muromachi Period (1392-1573)," http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/muro/hd_muro.htm

Metropolitan Museum of Art, “Zen Buddhism,” http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/zen/hd_zen.htm

"Takauji Ashikaga," http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2134.html