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Armor (Yoroi) of Ashikaga Takauji (1305–1358)

early 14th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 377
This is a rare example of a medieval yoroi. The yoroi is characterized by a cuirass that wraps around the body and is closed by a separate panel (waidate) on the right side and by a deep four-sided skirt. In use from around the tenth to the fourteenth century, yoroi were generally worn by warriors on horseback.

Originally, this armor was laced in white silk and had diagonal bands of multicolored lacings at the edges of the skirt and the sode (shoulder guards, missing here). The colored lacings symbolized the rainbow, which represented both good fortune and fleeting beauty. The breastplate is covered with stenciled leather bearing the image of the powerful Buddhist deity Fudō Myō-ō, whose fierce mien and attributes of calmness and inner strength were highly prized by the samurai.

Traditionally, it is believed that this yoroi was donated to the Shinomura Hachimangū , a shrine near Kyoto, by Ashikaga Takauji (1305–1358), founder of the Ashikaga shogunate.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Armor (Yoroi) of Ashikaga Takauji (1305–1358)
  • Date: early 14th century
  • Culture: Japanese
  • Medium: Iron, lacquer, leather, silk, gilt copper
  • Dimensions: H. 37 1/2 in. (95.3 cm); W. 22 in. (55.9 cm); Wt. 25 lb. 15 oz. (11.77 kg)
  • Classification: Armor for Man
  • Credit Line: Gift of Bashford Dean, 1914
  • Object Number: 14.100.121b–e
  • Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

More Artwork

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Armor (<i>Yoroi</i>) of Ashikaga Takauji (1305–1358), Iron, leather, lacquer, silk, copper, gold, pigments, Japanese
Armor (Yoroi) of Ashikaga Takauji (1305–1358)
Japanese
early–mid-14th century
Helmet of Ashikaga Takauji (1305–1358), Iron, lacquer, leather, silk, gilt copper, Japanese
Helmet of Ashikaga Takauji (1305–1358)
Japanese
mid-14th century
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Dali Kingdom (present-day Yunnan, China)
12th–13th century
Helmet Bowl (<i>Hoshi-Kabutobachi</i>), Steel, Japanese
Helmet Bowl (Hoshi-Kabutobachi)
Japanese
12th–13th century

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