A BLACK LACQUERED-IRON ZUNARI USHIRODATE KABUTO MID–EDO PERIOD, 17TH – 18TH CENTURY |

the three plate zunari (head shaped) helmet of black lacquered iron, set with a five lame ita jikoro [neck guard] black lacquered and laced in blue katchushi odoshi [tight lacing], the reverse with ushirodate bracket supporting a large horn-like ushirodate

The use of matchlock guns in combat battle had a fundamental influence on military strategy in Japan. Generals now had to stand behind their troops in combat in order not to be shot, yet had to lead complex movements on the battlefield. They had therefore to be identified by strong visual cues, such as the oversized horn formed cresting as found on this helmet. Arms and armours became more ornamental rather than of actual use in a pacified Japan during the latter part of the Edo period in the eighteenth century and before the arising of new tensions in the society, concomitant with the opening of the country to the West from the mid-nineteenth century. Therefore it is likely that the present helmet, with its delicate lacquered surface and large cresting, would have been intended for display or representation rather than for actual use in combat.