Collection
Helmet with Wave-Shaped Ornament
| Helmet with Wave-Shaped Ornament |
| Height 33.9 cm, front to back 24.9 cm, left to right 21.0 cm; Edo period, 17th century; Hikone City Cultural Asset; Gift of the Ii Family |
Kawari-kabuto helmets with unusual shapes and embellishments were fashionable during and after the Sengoku (“Warring States”) period (1467–1568). This example has an iron base covered with black-lacquered paper or leather. The prominent cresting waves at the top are intended to convey power and strength. The helmet is thought to have been worn by Andō Shigenori (d. 1684), a direct retainer of the Tokugawa shogunate.
