DAIMYO CLASS KAGA GUSOKU

Era: Early - Middle Edo Period, restored Late Edo

Style: Kin Bonji Tsuke Ni Mai Kaga Gusoku

Region: Kaga (Western Japan)

Signarute: None Visible

School: Unkai School (Kaga – Myuouchin)


This Armor is a high grade daimyo class armor from the Unkai school in very good condition. Though rather motley, and colorful, this armor is a complete and matching armor, not a composite (put together from pieces). The base components of this armor such as the sangu, dou, mengu, and kabuto date to the Early-Mid Edo period. However, I believe the armor to have had a restoration sometime in the Latter Edo period which consisted of some re-lacing, addition of fabric on the mabizashi, and some urushi touchups. Therefore the condition of this armor is very nice at present.

Though there is no signature visible on this armor it is possible to pin down the era and school of this armor to the Unkai school and likely a smith of the latter half of the 1600s through the beginning of the 1700s. Lavish use of gold, silver, and brass as well as the common decorative styles, soft iron texture and the common design elements allow us to say with a relative certainty when and who made it.

Armor Highlights

The kabuto is of an unusual high grade example with shinodare (decorative sword shaped applications) on every plate. The tehen kanamono is unusually composed of 8 decorative soft metal pieces that include, shakudo, silver, gilt copper, and some other unidentified alloys. The shikoro is laced with an undulating bottom row of white and orange cross laced sections which match perfectly with the lacing of the bottom row of the kusazuri on the dou. The fukigaeshi are adorned with high quality shakudo kamon which bear a family crest. I feel these kamon to have been added or changed during the latter Edo period when the armor was last restored.

The Mengu (face protector) is a hambo that has been lacquered with russet (reddish) lacquer that matches the dou. Unusually, the part which actually protects the face is made completely out of thick brass rather than iron. At the time that this armor was made, brass would have been quite expensive. Though, not as expensive as constructing it from gold or silver, the expensive would have been of note and brass would have given rather adequate protection. The lames of the throat protector have been decorated with mottled lacquer that has had gold leaf applied to the surface.

The dou being in suite with the rest of the armor is lavishly decorated with gold leaf, silver and brass. The entire inside of the dou is covered with gold leaf. The front decorated with a gilt, Sanskrit character which is absolutely original to the armor – NOT a latter addition. The rings and decorations on the front of the dou are composed of brass that has been gilt in a mixed silver/gold gilding. The boarder of the upper dou is decorated with brass fukurin (piping) that has been gilt likewise.

The sangu are matching, black lacquered with gilding. I feel that the gilding and current fabric were done in the latter Edo to make the armor even more impressive than it already was.

I feel the sode to date to the latter part of the Edo period and to have been added when the last restoration was. Though they date to the Early Edo period, their gilding dates to the late Edo. They were brought in to the armor to make it more imporessive. Therefore, the lacing at the base matches the color of the alternating orange-white lacing of the kusazuri and shikoro, however it does not alternate up and down as the kusazuri and shikoro lacing does.

In all this is a very nice daimyo grade armor that has been constructed of very high quality materials by top quality artisans. This armor makes a great addition to any high quality armor display.

 

SOLD TO AN AMERICAN MUSEUM