Samurai: Armor from the Collection of Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller

Nanbokuchō period, 1333–1392 (helmet); mid-Edo period, eighteenth century (suit)
Iron, gold and copper alloy (shakudō), gold, silver, lacing, fur, silk, lacquer, leather, bronze, and wood 

For seven centuries, the samurai ruled Japan. Starting in the late twelfth century, when powerful families seized control, the warrior class known as samurai (“those who serve”) alternately fought for power or enforced peace. During the era of the shogunate, power resided not at the imperial court but with the supreme military commander, the shogun. 

The samurai lived by a code that valued honor, loyalty, bravery, and willingness to die. Theirs was a culture of fearsome contradictions: expert archers and swordsmen, they were also poets and scholars who were schooled in literature and the arts. They were subordinate to their individual daimyo, who oversaw many Japanese provinces. This suit of armor belonged to a daimyo. The shogun and daimyo, who comprised the governing military nobility, were also “samurai,” as the term came to denote skilled, educated, and refined warriors.  

Signed by Hōrai Kunichika (helmet); signed by Myōchin Muneaki (mask) 
Muromachi period, ca. 1530 (helmet); early to mid-Edo period, seventeenth–eighteenth century (mask)
Iron, lacquer, gold and copper alloy (shakudō), gold, silver, copper, bronze, silk, and leather  

A full suit of armor was a huge investment, and samurai who could afford it went to great expense to obtain a striking and distinctly personal ensemble. Specialized artisans—metalsmiths, leather and lacquer workers, weavers, and embroiderers—labored for months to create all the different components. At every step, they made choices about materials and how to fashion and assemble the many elements that make up one suit. They brought equal attention to the elaborate decoration that created a harmonious and instantly recognizable status symbol for its owner. Many armorers went unrecognized, but those employed by wealthy clans, or heads of important workshops, signed their work.  

Samurai armor was brilliantly responsive to a fighter’s need for both protection and freedom of movement. Metal plates deflected blows, while the divided skirt made it possible for soldiers to fight more effectively on horseback. Silk cords and hinges gave a warrior the flexibility to lift and aim a bow or twist around to swing a sword. But function alone didn’t account for the armor’s bold color, decoration, and forms, which were important for reasons of hierarchy, personal recognition, and intimidation.  

Early Edo period, early seventeenth century (armor); late Momoyama period, late sixteenth century (back-mounted standard, sashimono)
Iron, lacquer, bear fur, paper, bamboo, gold, wood, fabric, and horsehair 

The three feathers on the back of this armor, known as sashimono, are made of gilded, lacquered Japanese paper. This embellishment is typical of the style of the Momoyama period (1573–1603), during which warriors placed great emphasis on the distinctive, recognizable features and design of their armor. Due to their fragile construction, the feathers were probably not worn in direct combat but by a commander surveying the battlefield from a distance. This armor may also have been worn for military parades.  

Signed by Myōchin Munemasa
Mid-Edo period, ca. 1730 
Iron, gold, silver, bronze, gold and copper alloy (shakudō), and leather  

In the Edo period (1603–1868), armorers were elevated to the rank of artists. In the nine main armor schools in the Japanese provinces, masters and artisans formed distinctive styles. Most of these schools were established in the 1500s; often founded by prominent artists, the workshops trained generations of artisans who transmitted their craft from father to son. Wealthier warriors, including the shogun, had their own armorers. Several artisans worked to design different components of a single piece of armor; they were proud of the finished pieces and often signed them to claim the product as their work. The Myōchin school, where this helmet was made and which is very well represented in this collection, still exists and has been maintained by the same family for the past four hundred years. 

Late Momoyama period, late sixteenth–early seventeenth century
Iron, silver, lacquer, and leather 

The term nanban is often used to refer to a style of art and design that flourished in Japan in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Derived from a Chinese expression for people of South and Southeast Asia, nanban referred to the Portuguese merchants and missionaries who came to Japan to trade and to seek converts.  

Mid-Edo period, eighteenth century
Lacquer, gold, and horsehair  

Part bird, part fish, and crowned with abundant white horsehair, this frontal crest for a helmet combines air, sea, and land into one intimidating animal. Although the creature is imaginary, the details of eyes, teeth, and snarling snout are rendered with great realism. 

Signed by Sadao of the Bamen school (helmet); Nara school (mask) 
Late Muromachi period, sixteenth century (helmet); Momoyama period, late sixteenth century (mask)
Iron, copper, gold and copper alloy (shakudō), gold, lacing, wood, horsehair, and leather 

After the introduction of firearms, smoke blanketed many battlefields, causing confusion for the troops. So they could be more readily identified, samurai began to wear helmets with elaborate ornaments at the front, back, or sides, often featuring an intricate crest (maedate).  

In their quest for unique and meaningful armor, samurai turned to nature, folklore, or religion for inspiration. Whatever the source, they selected designs for their armor that would set them apart and communicate their personality and beliefs, whether whimsical, frightening, or spiritual. 

Signed by Myōchin Yoshiiye
Late Muromachi to early Edo period, late eighteenth–early nineteenth century 
Iron, brocade, leather, wood, and lacing 

Countless symbols from religion and philosophy influenced the culture of the samurai over the centuries and were frequently used to embellish their armor. One such image was that of Fudō Myōō, the Buddhist deity of wisdom and patron of swordsmen. His attributes are fire, which burns away impediments and impurity; the sword of wisdom, which cuts through ignorance; and the rope, used to bind violent passions and emotions. He is the subject of the miniature at the front of the helmet. Partially lacquered in gold, the wooden figure on the helmet originally formed part of a small, portable shrine before being converted into this ornament. The Fudō Myōō figure stands on a rock in front of a wall of flames and holds two of his attributes, a rope and a sword (now lost).  

Signed by Yokoyama Kōzuke Daijō Fujiwara Sukesada (blade)
Early Edo period, 1660–1670
Steel (blade); bronze, stingray skin, wood, lacquer (nashiji technique), and gold (fittings)

It took hundreds of hours and many specialized workers to make a magnificent sword like this one. A bladesmith formed the long, curved blade to be both strong and flexible. Another artisan applied the stingray skin to the handle. Yet another undertook the lacquer work that decorates the scabbard (the sheath that holds the blade), mixing gold flakes into the lacquer for a shimmering effect. The circular crest of the Abe family, a five-pronged leaf, appears one hundred thirty-five times. Swords of this type would have been worn only by the highest-ranking members of the military aristocracy on official or ceremonial occasions. Nonetheless, this weapon would have been forbidden within the palace walls.

Mid-Edo period, eighteenth century
Iron, wood, and copper

Notice the tiny monkey on each of the stirrups—rare embellishments on this type of equipment. Monkeys were considered protective figures who could ward off illnesses horses were prone to.