Japanese / Armor (Yoroi) / early 14th century

Japanese
Armor (Yoroi)
early 14th century
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Creator Nationality: Asian; Far East Asian; Japanese
Creator Name-CRT: Japanese
Title: Armor (Yoroi)
Title Type: Object name
View: Alternate View
Creation Start Date: 1300
Creation End Date: 1333
Creation Date: early 14th century
Object Type: Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects
Classification Term: Armors
Materials and Techniques: Lacquered iron and leather, silk, stenciled leather, copper-gilt
Dimensions: H. 37 1/2 in. (95.3 cm), Wt. 38 lb. 3 oz. (17.3 kg)
AMICA Contributor: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Owner Location: New York, New York, USA
ID Number: 14.100.121
Credit Line: Gift of Bashford Dean, 1914
Rights: http://www.metmuseum.org/
Style or Period: Late Kamakura period
Context:

This rare example of a medieval '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. In use from around the tenth to the fourteenth century, 'yoroi' were generally worn by warriors on horseback.

This armor was originally laced in white silk and had diagonal bands of multicolored lacings at the edges of the skirt and the now-missing 'sode' (shoulder guards). The colored lacings symbolized the rainbow, which represented both good fortune and fleeting beauty. The breastplate is covered with stenciled leather bearing the image of the powerful Buddhist deity Fudo Myo-o, whose fierce mien and attributes of calmness and inner strength were highly prized by samurai. The helmet, long associated with this armor, dates from the mid-fourteenth century.

This 'yoroi' is traditionally believed to have been donated to the Shinomura Hachimangu, a shrine near Kyoto, by Ashikaga Takauji (1305-1358), founder of the Ashikaga shogunate.

AMICA ID: MMA_.14.100.121
AMICA Library Year: 2000
Media Metadata Rights: Copyright The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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