Iron, gilt copper, deerskin, silk, and lacquerexpand_more
Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundationexpand_more 2015.79.438a-e
With its wide-spreading laced neck guard (shikoro) and curving face protectors (fukikaeshi), this helmet is typical of the type used with Japan's classic armor for mounted warriors, oyoroi, constructed by lacing metal or leather pieces together. The heraldic front pieces of this example are particularly dramatic, with extremely long kuwagata (stylized long blades). The central disk is emblazoned with the Sanskrit characters for the Buddhist deity Fudo Myo-o, "the immovable king of brightness." Thus, the owner of this helmet hoped that the fierce implacability of this demigod would accompany him into battle.
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