armor restoration

[Birdman]

Is there anyone in the US who restores Japanese armor? I just bought a rather battered jingasa on Ebay for a very low price ($110 plus shipping, which was my best offer; original price was $280). It has a fairly steep cone shape, and it is "notched" in the front with a sort of brim or visor over the notch - I'm fairly sure, from what I have read, that it is an ashigaru jingasa and not just a samurai riding hat, and there is the remains of a gold kamon on the front (be nice to find out what family/clan...). It was listed as being made out of "wood", but more than likely I'm thinking it's lacquered rawhide.

 

I actually did not originally buy it with the idea of restoring it, but rather to use as a model or study-piece on which to base a replica, since I would be able to examine the construction details "up close and personal". However, if it CAN be restored, it would be nice to have it done at some point.

 

I will post photos when I receive it.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/ebayisapi.dll?viewitem&item=280631617585

[estcrh]

I have seen this type being called described as a gun troop jingasa. You might try asking on this forum http://tousando.proboards.com/index.cgi a lot of people on it make their own armor and they might have some suggestions for you, Anthony Bryant contributes from time to time also and he might know of a method to help stabilize it. Trevor Absolons's samurai armor forum might be of help also http://www.toraba.com/forum/ . I think it is leather of some sort, not wood, lacquered leather has a wood like sound when you tap on it.

[Birdman]

Thanks! Gun troop as in cannon, or aquebusiers?

 

Where can I find out about the mon on the front - what clan or family, in other words?

[estcrh]

Malcolm posted a good link here that might help, viewtopic.php?f=9&t=9455&p=78306#p78306

[Birdman]

Thanks, that was very helpful!

 

The mon is called "maru ni ken katabami", wood sorrel with swords. Looking around on the internet, I can't seem to link it to a particular family - it seems to be a VERY common one, and is even in current use by several martial-arts dojos.

 

[johnb]

Personally, I'd leave it as is.

 

 

John

[Birdman]

What about stabilization, to prevent any further deterioration?

[Justin Grant]

It is falling apart from lack of proper care, storage, and no love. Sure, things deteriorate with time, but this was accelerated with the lack of care.

 

Provide a stable environment and it will be good.

 

Justin

[Birdman]

Yeah, for some reason not very many people are interested in the ashigaru equipment, so despite the fact that it was churned out in vast quantities, not as much seems to have been preserved. Me, I want to eventually assemble a complete ashigaru armor, with the jingasa, lightly armored kote, and hara-ate dou. Adding a teppo to that would be icing on the cake!

[estcrh]

Yeah, for some reason not very many people are interested in the ashigaru equipment, so despite the fact that it was churned out in vast quantities, not as much seems to have been preserved. Me, I want to eventually assemble a complete ashigaru armor, with the jingasa, lightly armored kote, and hara-ate dou. Adding a teppo to that would be icing on the cake!

Here is a quote by Ian Bottomley from another thread on the subject of ashigaru armor.

 

Prior to the 1540's the ashigaru were despised individuals whose role was really that of bulking up the forces. Give them guns (or spears) and a few weeks or months training and they had the potential to defeat the best traditional armies of the time. But imagine the change in attitude the bushi had to make towards these despised commoners. They not only had to recognise that they were an effective force and could kill them, but that their own role was now to actually support and protect these plebs in battle. They also recognised that these forces needed to be properly equipped to perform their function effectively. Hence the supply of weapons and armour to these troops. Yes, the equipment wasn't the finest quality in the sense that the bushi's armour was, nor could it be. The sheer quantity needed dictated that, but, it was well though out and effective. A simple dou, a jingasa of iron or nerigawa and sleeves, enough to offer reasonable protection and simple enough to mass-produce. Consider the ashigaru armour shown above. It is of iron, an expensive material and lacquered. Almost all these armours were laced with hemp and had hemp cloth for the sleeves - not as expensive as fancy Chinese brocade, but a costly material nevertheless and one that lasted far longer. This kind of equipment was revolutionary in its day and because it was commonplace by the Meiji period, scrapped in vast quantities.

[IanB]

Rich, Sadly you have taken on one heck of a task. Your jingasa is rawhide, nerigawa, that is rigid and stiff when dry but soft and flexible when moist. When made, the jingasa would have been lacquered whilst the hide was dry and hard, but when that layer cracks, atmospheric moisture gets in. This swells the hide under the crack causing further lifting of more lacquer and so on. I would advocate doing little other than trying to dehydrate the exposed hide and then keeping it that way. You can consolidate any loose lacquer by injecting an adhesive under in and clamping it down. Conservators in this country use paraloid dissolved in a solvent since it is reversible. It takes for ever to completely harden since the solvent has to evapourate through the hardened material around the edge. An armour restorer I know in Japan uses superglue, the job being done in minutes, but it is not reversible. Apart from that, I wouldn't attempt to restore any missing lacquer unless you are an expert.

Ian Bottomley

[Justin Grant]

Yeah, for some reason not very many people are interested in the ashigaru equipment, so despite the fact that it was churned out in vast quantities, not as much seems to have been preserved. Me, I want to eventually assemble a complete ashigaru armor, with the jingasa, lightly armored kote, and hara-ate dou. Adding a teppo to that would be icing on the cake!

 

I have an Ashigaru hotoke dou that I am relacing with some... a lot... of guidance from Ian and a lot of reading and photos.

 

You are correct about ashigaru gear, but it is out there.

 

Good luck.

[Ronin Akuma]

<=== See my avatar pic

That Jingasa has the same mon as my family!

[Birdman]

Really? May I ask which family? I've found that this mon is the third most commonly used mon in all of Japan, and that several families use it.

[Ronin Akuma]

I don't know anything about it, but my family name is FUJITA.

藤

田

[estcrh]

Here is a jingasa of the same style as yours that is for sale on ebay right now, just for reference.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 346802252+

[Birdman]

Interesting! And the same basic kamon, too (minus the circle, or "maruni"). That one looks like a piece for a higher-ranking official rather than a lowly ashigaru.

 

I showed the pics on the Toraba collectors forum. The forum admin, who also collects and sells antique gusoku, said that mine is very late Edo (post 1800), as this style did not come out until then.