Ita-kozane-dō Tosei Gusoku – Samurai armor, Edo period

A splendid samurai armor, complete and original in every element.

The technical and artistic features place this armor around the mid-Edo period, towards the late 18^th century.

The helmet is a refined example of an ō-boshi kabuto with 24 plates, distinguished by large decorative rivets and enriched with engraved silver plates and shinodare in gold, following the “revival” style of the time, which drew inspiration from medieval models. Both the helmet and the mask reflect the characteristics of the Myōchin school.

The cuirass is of a rather rare construction, featuring smooth horizontal plates tightly laced (ita-kozane) with kebiki odoshi, with different colors used for the breastplates (mune-ita). The same lacing technique is present throughout the rest of the armor, except for the kusazuri, which consists of kiritsuke–zane plates. The high level of craftsmanship in this dō is evident in the presence of gold rope-shaped borders (fukurin), additional shoulder protections (ko-ire), and decorative plates on the shoulder guards (gyoyo).

The sangu consists of kote (arm guards) and haidate (thigh guards) made of chain mail, with the latter featuring the samurai’s family crest (kamon). The suneate (shin guards) are of the tsutsu type, made of solid plates.