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Caption

  • A set of Samurai armor arranged to appear as if a figure is wearing it and sitting down.

Samurai armour

16th century

Lacquered metal, silk

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Description

This samurai armour (tosei gosuku) was made in Japan after 1500. Samurai armour was worn by ancient warriors in Japan. This suit is a decorative version, a high-status object unlikely to have been worn in battle.

It is made up of several pieces from different armours. The helmet (kabuto), for example, does not belong to the suit. Items acquired as spoils of war were often reworked to form a composite suit.

You can learn more about the individual pieces of the samurai armour on RAMM’s collections site.

Visual description: A complete set of samurai armour displayed on a life-size mannequin. The armour is arranged in a traditional seated position. It appears almost as if someone is wearing it. The armour consists of a helmet, a mask, shoulder pads, a chest plate and leg armour. The armour is decorated with red and gold detailing.

RAMM Treasures Trail - Object 4 - Samurai Armour

Learn about the fourth object in RAMM's Treasures of the Museum trail, the samurai armour.

Treasures of the Museum: Samurai Armour

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Transcript

Sarah Klopf: My name is Sarah Klopf. I'm Senior Conservator at RAMM.

One of the most striking objects when you come into the World Cultures gallery is the samurai armour. You literally come face to face with it.

The body armour came to the museum in the 1970s and we actually know very little about who donated it and how it was purchased and how it came to the UK.

One of the funny things about the armour is that it's actually several pieces of different armours. So the body armour all belongs together but the bear fur shoes and the helmet are from different armours.

When you come to the gallery, it's obviously almost like the armour is just resting, waiting to jump into action. This is actually quite a traditional way of how these armours were kept, to keep them on display because they were such a high-status object. And, you know, you showed that you were a very important person for having one of these armours.

Because the modern period is a time of peace in Japan, the armour was concentrating more on being decorative rather than actually used in combat.

So, when you come to see the armour, make sure you look at it very closely. It is made of so many different materials. You have, for example, silk, textiles. You have metal lacquer. You have all these amazing silk braids. You have paper and leather that have been used.

So it is really an incredible object that is very, very detailed and decorative.

Credits

Watch RAMM staff and volunteers tell us why they love each of the 16 objects, and hear the fascinating stories that make these items so special.

Additional Information

Accession Number
E503

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