Subject: horse-archer
Culture: Kofun
Setting: Japan 3rd-6thc
Object: keiko, tankō armors
* Metropolitan Museum of Art > Stone Gallery of Arms and Armor
Iron, covered with gilt copper
Kofun period, 5th century
This rare, early Japanese helmet was excavated in Ise Province, Mie Prefecture. The type of construction -- horizontal rings to which rectangular scales are riveted -- was probably imported from China or Korea. Most helmets of this type were made of iron, but some were of gilt copper, probably for ceremonial display. This example is unusual in combining both materials." ...
Iron
Kofun period, late 5th-6th century
The earliest known armors worn in Japan were of either keiko or tankō type. The keiko was of lamellar construction with overlapping bronze or iron scales laced together with leather or fabric. The tankō, on the other hand, was constructed entirely of horizontal iron plates joined by rivets. The tankō's rigid cuirass, shaped to the body, was higher in the back and opened at the center front; the right front panel (missing in this example) was hinged at the side to admit the body. The complete tankō would have included a helmet of plate with a deep neck guard, neckplates, shoulderplates, arm guards, and a deep skirt." ...
