Although constructed in the traditional sixteenth-century gusoku (complete set) fashion, this is actually an example of the revival of earlier armor styles during the Edo period. It was part of the large collection of Japanese arms and armor formed by Arms and Armor Department founding curator Bashford Dean around 1900, during his extended stays in Japan for scientific research. The armor was included in the Metropolitan Museum's 1903 loan exhibition of Japanese arms and armor from Dean's private collection, which the Museum purchased in 1904.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
Artwork Details
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title:Armor (Gusoku)
Date:19th century
Culture:Japanese
Medium:Iron, leather, lacquer, silk, copper alloy
Dimensions:as mounted, approx.: H. 77 in. (195.6 cm); W. 26 in. (66 cm); D. 16 1/2 in. (41.9 cm)
Classification:Armor for Man
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1904
Accession Number:04.4.2
Ex coll.: Bashford Dean, New York.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries," November 14, 1970–June 1, 1971.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Bashford Dean and the Creation of the Arms and Armor Department," October 2, 2012–October 13, 2014.
Dean, Bashford, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Catalogue of the Loan Collection of Japanese Armor. Hand-book (Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1903. p. 47, fig. 14.
Grancsay, Stephen V. "A New Gallery of Japanese Arms and Armor." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 27 pp. 66–68, ill.
Rankin, Major Robert T. "The Arms and Armor of Feudal Japan." Hobbies 56 pp. 141–43, ill.
Grancsay, Stephen V. "The New Galleries of Oriental Arms and Armor." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (May 1958), pp. 254–255, ill. p. 255 and cover.
Grancsay, Stephen V. "The Japanese Armour Gallery in the Metropolitan Museum of Art." The Connoisseur (September 1961), opp. p. 10 (ill. in color).
Boger, Batterson H. The Traditional Arts of Japan: A Complete Illustrated Guide. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1964. pp. 108–109, ill.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Kenneth Clark. Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1970. p. 247, no. 261, ill.
Nickel, Helmut. Ullstein-Waffenbuch: eine kulturhistorische Waffenkunde mit Markenverzeichnis. Berlin: Ullstein, 1974. p. 132, ill.
Grancsay, Stephen V., and Stuart W. Pyhrr. Arms & Armor: Essays by Stephen V. Grancsay from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 1920–1964. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1986. pp. 99–101, fig. 36.1.
Barnhart, Richard M. Asia, edited by John P. O'Neill. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987. p 31, p. 30 illus., color; p. 31. backview, cat. no. 11.
Pyhrr, Stuart W. "Of Arms and Men: Arms and Armor at the Metropolitan, 1912–2012." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (Summer 2012), pp. 11–12, figs. 12–13.
Byck, John, and Edward Hunter. Japanese Arms and Armor from the Collection of Etsuko and John Morris. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2018. p. 7, ill.
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
