Someone mentioned jinbaori.

[estcrh]

Since jinbaori were worn with armor I will post this here. I ran into an image of a jinbaori that is really unusual. While searching for images of Indo-Persian weapons and armor I noticed a jinbaori that looked it was made from a Persian carpet/textile, the description stated that the Portuguese brought Persian rugs to Japan and the Japanese made the rugs into jinbaori etc. This got me to thinking about what else may have come to Japan from the Indo-Persian areas...elephants perhaps? Has anyone else ever seen evidence of other Indo-Persian items in Japan.

[DaveT]

How cool is that

[IanB]

Eric, Yup - I got a helmet that once had a nasal bar. It was taken off later, but the evidence of its existance is beyond dispute.

Ian Bottomley

[estcrh]

Eric, Yup - I got a helmet that once had a nasal bar. It was taken off later, but the evidence of its existance is beyond dispute.

Ian Bottomley

Ian that would be something to see, since the Portuguese brought the matchlock to Japan it makes sense that they may have brought armor of some type as well. I have wondered if Japanese armored clothing may have been influenced by Indo-Persian examples, here is an Indian (actually Turkish as per Ian) jacket with hidden mail and a Japanese one, very similar.

[IanB]

Eric, You do have a habit of picking up things! I bought that kazaghand for the Royal Armouries' collection about 8 years ago. It is in fact Turkish and is only the second known that has retained its original silk covering - the other being in the Topkapi museum. The Indians did make and wear similar garments and I bought another that was Mughal with a long long sleeves and a full pleated skirt, the mail being confined to the torso and sleeves only. At some point this had been stripped of its outer silk covering leaving only a coarse cotton under layer and wadding over the mail. Interestingly, I did some research on a load of Indian mail and plate coats that had been captured by Mughal forces in the Deccan during the 17th century and which were of some age then judging by the repairs some have. These were found to have been galvanised with zinc, presumably because they were originally textile covered. In fact, I have only managed to find one image of an uncovered mail and plate coat, in a manuscript in the Pierpoint Morgan library.

As for the helmet, I will dig it out and take some pictures. My guess is that it was inspired by an Indian or Persian helmet rather than a European one - the Portuguese tending to use Italian armour. European helmets were made with nasal bars, especially during the mid 17th century during the English civil war, but rather too late to have influenced the Japanese.

Ian Bottomley

[John A Stuart]

My favourite helmet is from the English civil war period; the capeline. John

[estcrh]

Ian, thanks for the correction, the only image I could find of that kazaghand had it labeled as being Indian, typical internet misinformation. if you could dig up an image of that particular kabuto I would love to see it. Here is an image of the other existing kazaghand that you mentioned.

 

John, the capeline helmet that you mention is based on the Ottoman chichak style helmet I believe.

[IanB]

Eric, Your wish is my command. Here is the helmet that seems to have had the nasal bar. Essentially it is a form of Etchu zunari kabuto with a superstructure in the form of a court cap. The tehen kanamono is iron that internally is a thick iron tube that connects the 'court cap' to the medial plate of the zunari bachi - an incredibly strong construction. Originally it has had some form of kashiradate, the tehen kanamono having bayonet socket grooves cut inside. The various ornamental washers under the rivets suggests an Haruta origin with strong Saiga influences. My feeling is that the original bowl is late Momoyama although the present maedate and wakidate are later Edo period additions. Sitting behind the brass tsunomoto for the maedate is an iron stud positioned above the rectangular hole in the peak with its roped border. What function the stud had is open to speculation but it probably carried a socket and thumb screw to hold the bar up or down. The upper part of the tehen kanamono is roped in exactly the same way as the hole in the peak indicating both were conceived from the start. Under the peak are two holes spaced either side of the centre line that are now filled with lacquer. These I suggest held a bracket that acted as a guide to the nasal bar. Clearly it wasn't a success since it was removed.

Brian, You like what!!! have you handled civil war helmets. A blind politician armed with a blunt horseshoe could turn out better armour than most of these wretched things display. Most were crude, brutish helmets, churned out in their thousands with little or no regard to either finish or aesthetics. If they could be jammed on somebody's head without causing cranial fractures they would do.

Ian Bottomely

[Brian]

John...not Brian.

I have no particular affection for English helmets

 

Brian

[IanB]

John, I am so sorry - I was so carried away with my stream of invective I wasn't thinking straight. Actually there are some quite reasonable English close helmets, although nowhere near as good as German or Italian ones I concede. The problem is that they are never signed or marked and are generally labelled Flemish, despite the fact that most have been found in English churches.

Ian

[John A Stuart]

Yes, me Ian. I am totally biased here of course being an outright fan of the Cavalier and decry the roundhead interregnum and the Lord Pretender er... Protector that is. After all I am a Stuart. As to the helmets themselves; it is the lobstertail neck guard reminiscent of Roman armour, the peak and the good field of view offered by an open face I like. If I had to actually depend on one I might totally revise my opinion based as it is on appearance. John

[estcrh]

Ian, thanks for the pictures, thats a really interesting kabuto, and it looks solid as a rock. The later period fittings make it look ancient, an nice example of a refitted kabuto.

[uwe]

Hi Ian, a very interesting Kabuto. My first impression was Saiga. Is this additional mail neck-guard original to the helmet?

Uwe

[IanB]

Uwe, All I've done is re-lace the front of the ukebari since the original braid was falling apart. It was while doing that I first noticed the filled holes under the peak. I used purple braid because that was all I had that was narrow enough. Perhaps I should have used blue.

Ian

[estcrh]

Just to clarify, it appears that Ian's helmet has the remainders thru, under and above the brow of a sliding nose guard of the type normally seen on early Indo-Persian helmets and then later on certain European helmets. Due to the time period Ian's helmet was constructed its likely that it was modeled after an Indo-Persian style nose guard. Here is a picture of a chichak, a type of helmet (migfer) originally worn in the 15th-16th century by cavalry of the Ottoman Empire, you can see the sliding nose guard. Chichak's featured a rounded bowl with ear flaps, a peak with a sliding nose guard passing through the peak, and an extension in the back to protect the neck. Various other countries used their own versions of the chichak including Mughal India, in Europe the zischagge helmet was a Germanisation of the original Turkish name.

[uwe]

That`s right Eric,

also known as, "Pappenheimer" or "Lobster Tail Helmet". There where some customary developments in Hungary and Poland since about the middle of the 16th century. In the 17th century this "model" spreading out to the whole middle Europe as helmets for Hussars, Dragoons and Cuirassiers. To be used modified especially for Cuirassiers until the late 19th century......in France

Uwe