though Vikings generally didn't wear horns the people they came from did which where the Celtic/Gaul people. which is where Siegfried the opera character got it from which is why Norris culture and in extension Vikings. so not entirely true but on small boats horns aren't going to help you.
How busy was it? I'm the type of person who likes to take their time in museums and the like (plus I honestly don't enjoy being too crowded in) and I am wondering if it'd be better to go in the office season/towards the tail end of the tourist season to get the most out of things.
@@WeWillAlwaysHaveVALIS do some research yourself on google instead of replying to a 2 year old comment with a question, maybe? Stop acting like youre the main character. No one cares what "type of person" you are at a museum, nor does anyone care that you "don't enjoy being too crowded in." No one does. And you are meant to take your time in museums. They are MUSEUMS. Not races. There is no point in saying ANY of that. Most people are like that lmao. You can easily answer any questions you have about it yourself. It's not that hard to use Google. I'm sure there's dozens of reviews on here, too.
@@WeWillAlwaysHaveVALIS It's not that crowded. Generally, the inside of a Japanese castle today is like a museum, with items used by the samurai in those days with English explanations, books, helmets, swords, and souvenir stores. It is about as crowded as a regular museum.
I think because the Japanese we’re such a closed society without foreigner’s whatsoever they preserved there history and culture to a degree not many were able to do. As soon the ban against foreigners was loosened the culture changed drastically and dramatically.
Tadakatsu armor is by far the most bad ass of all the sengoku daimyo. The antlers, the prayer beads, the large old school sode 😍😍😍. One day when I have enough money I’ll definitely be buying a replica
@@michaelbandada9887 He was the greatest warrior in the west and Tachibana Muneshige was the greatest in the east. But they were both eclipsed by Sanada Nobushige who became greater than either of them.
I was were wondering what the helmets stood for and represented. Excellent breakdown of the Clans and the Family. Terrific research and exploration of a tough time here.
@@TheShogunate Can you pls make a video about armours of famous sengoku leaders and also cover about oda nobunaga 's armor . I have been always thinking what kind armour he wore in the field of battle .
@@arunramani1724 according to some, Nobunaga wears Western armor and that is how Nobunaga is depicted in all known media, like Samurai Warriors and Nobunaga’s Ambition
@@michaelbandada9887 That depiction is most likely inaccurate and is more of a representation of his largely exaggerated westernization in pop culture.
@@arunramani1724 Nobunaga would be hard for him to do. We have no existing examples that we can point to as being his for sure, or even a reasonable guess. In addition, what descriptions we have are very vague.
oh my goodness… I’ve never seen anything like Hideyoshi’s sunburst kabuto, it’s beautiful! I can’t even imagine how terrifying it must’ve been to see the sun gleaming off this helmet on a battlefield…
My family were samurai who served the Matsudaira family, relatives of the shogun, during the Edo period. Our family has two armored helmets and four Masamune swords that have been passed down for 300 years.
That's amazing that you have such a connection with your distant past ancestors. Most families here in the US are clueless about their deeper legacies.
@@DocHalliday we jokes in EU that US doesn't have history at all, but its true regular ppl don't know their grand grand fathers but its possible to check churches documents to own make genetic tree
@@benek8737 I know my fathers line. He was Special Forces in Vietnam, and his father was Doctor in the US Army during WW2, and his father Military Doctor as well and so on all going back to the inception of the US Calvary. I'm the one who broke that tradition and I honestly feel that's why my life has gone nowhere.
@@yodasmomisondrugs7959 As long as you wake up every day with air in your lungs, no matter what age you are, you have the chance to make your life anything you want it to be. Believe in yourself and all things are possible. 👍🏽
This was not a subject that I frankly gave much more than cursory consideration. I basically just viewed them as another battlefield ornamental identifier. Thanks to this video, I now know although that this was a minor, but important consideration in their overall reason for existence. I learned a lot from this video, and look forward to expanding my knowledge on this subject.
And here I go around buying golden coloration for Sakai's heirloom scale armor from the next best traveling merchant with nothing but flowers i picked up on the way while switching between 3 equally as impressive armors, each with their own swords bows and even *saddles!*
that he was. From a son of peasant to the chancellor of japan. Many consider him a failure at unifying japan. But it was just that Yi Sun-shin was born in the time as he did.
My favorite helmet of Ieyasu, is his kawari kabuto from his earlier days which combined the ichi-no-tani plate like on Kuroda Nagamasa's, with a massive nail pointing skyward right behind it. I'm pretty positive this is the helmet Shingen refers to in his quote about Ieyasu having two things too worthy for him: the second thing being Tadakatsu.
My fave is Naoe just for having the kanji of love on it. I mean out of all the things to put on your helmet, 'love' is certainly the last one that comes to my mind.
I love how war fighting changed as we transitioned from feudal age to industrial age all over the world. Disciplined Soldiers replaced fierce Warriors, science replaced art and emphasis on quantity replaced quality.
I cannot believe that these were anything but ceremonial helmets, not meant to be fought in, except for the leader, who oversaw the battles from a folding chair, not meant to be physically fighting.
6:33 Late sengoku/early edo period painting of the 24 generals of Takeda Shingen exists, with depiction of Takeda Shingen with his famous kabuto. Well, it looks very similar.
There is another explanation for Toyotomi Hideyoshi's kabuto having the rays of sunlight behind it. The rays are symbolic of the rays of the sun rising over Japan. Just like on their battle flag. The regular flag is the sun on a white background, while the battle flag has the rays coming out of the sun. Note also that the kabuto has a unique shape to the helmet itself - that is symbolic of one historic battle with the Mongolian's who were trying to invade and were repelled from a beach-head that had steep cliffs where samurai archers shot and sunk some of the boats. So the helmet's design is an homage to the beach, cliffs, and the sun rising behind Japan. Having the sun to one's back in a battle is also an advantage worth mentioning. One other thing you might have mentioned is that as helmets and armor evolved, samurai and lords had nostalgia about the past and wanted elements from some of the old styles on their armor. That made dating some kabuto's difficult because they had attributes that belonged to a different age.
or there is a simpler explanation. Hideyoshi needed the entire japan to cease civil war and accept his proposal to invade china as one. Everything needed to be perfect.
It's my understanding and i could be wrong, the ornamentation such as horns were pretty easily broken and it was a good sign if they came back broken because it meant the warrior fought bravely
Not a surprise to hear Yukimura's helmet is most likely a work of fiction just like how Yukimura himself is just a romanticized version of Sanada Nobushige, but it's still kinda a bummer to hear it confirmed, that helmet is one of my favorites alongside Tadakatsu's helmet, Hideyoshi's sunbirth helmet and Takatora's super weird helmet.
Date Masamunate inspired Darth Vader, from his black armor to his brutal acts, his life very the Shakespearean epithet of the dark story arc, but with whole glory and riches to it, just like Alexander the Great and Octavian Caesar Augustus,
Why the F*** is some of the greatest warriors armours in the U.K.? Theses are prized pieces that should be honoured for who they belong to in the land they belonged to.
Just going to point out that Ieyasu’s helmet from the Battle of Sekigahara was unornamented, but it did come with a maetate that consisted of two gold ferns (the “wreath” mentioned), a gold ring, and a lacquered head of a “shikami.” It is because of the gold fern ring that the armor is known as the “Fern Armor.” Homages produced in the 18th and 19th centuries for later Tokugawa shoguns have the maetate mounted, whereas the original has no such provisions. Also the masks are slightly different.
I've come to equate the Samurai helmet with those of Europe. Both would adorn their helmets with all sorts of iconography and styles to set the wearer apart from his peers and the common foot soldiers. There were differences, yes, but the spirit of personalizing the head gear is universal.
For me, my favorite Samurai kabuto are both fictional. 1. The Sakai helmet from the game Ghost of Tsushima. The deer horns make it look very intimidating, but at the same time are not so big and cumbersome. 2. The helmet that goes with the armor that Tom Cruise wore in The Last Samurai. It's a very simple yet elegant design with average size V crest on the front.
I’ve always wondered about shingen takeda’s wigged helmet. But he was not the only one depicted wearing a wigged helmet. Mitsunari ishida is often depicted wearing a wigged helmet. Were wigged helmet an actual thing or just dramatic license in kabuki plays
From the amount of real helmets we have around still today that have fur or some elements of flowing hair, I think they were definitely a real thing yet it is hard to tell which historical figures ACTUALLY had them haha
Oh this is just awesome Kuroda Nagamasas Ichi-no-tani inspired Kabuto is just too good and unique. Kato Tadahiro had the same sort of eboshi as Kiyomasa and by the way, the longer the Eboshi was, the higher ranking the general was. What's interesting about the Ii clan, all the successive lords of Hikone domain from Naotaka to Naosuke used the Wakidate(Golden horns), red lacquered Yoroi and Kabuto style that Naomasa wore along with their own personalized additions such as hair as seen on Ii Naosumis armor. Fukushima Masanoris horns were most likely made of Washi paper. Well actually, Ieyasus armor of black Buffalo horns and bear fur is on display Owari Tokugawa museum and it is believed he was called the "Cow of Kanto" due to this armor. As for the iconic all black armor of ieyasu, adorned with the golden fern which is a symbol of Daikokuten, a syncretic Japanese deity of wealth and prosperity, it is believed he wore it at Sekigahara and at Osaka no Eki however due to some historical records, during the Natsu no jin(summer siege) , Ieyasu didn't even wear any armor and was transported using a palanquin so I'm sure that if he did wear it, it would most likely be at Sekigahara despite popular media depictions in games and series supporting my guess. Another interesting thing is that the original does not have the golden fern so I've still yet to come across any sources as to why it is depicted with the Golden fern as an adornment when the original does not have it.
As you mentioned Ieyasu black armor, in popular drama or as historical records. Think he didn't wear his helmet at all but was wearing a cotton cushion hat. I mean he was already in his 70 by that time. I think he only wore the armor just for war council with his men. Also his Cow of Kanto armor. Didn't he made this as a trolling armor after someone insulted him for being dumb as a cow? As being called a cow in East Asian culture is a bit negative, sort of "Strong but dumb"
@@hanchiman by the time of Sekigahara, Ieyasu was not that old but he didn't wear a Kabuto during the battle. In all series I've watched, from Aoi Tokugawa 3 generations to Gunshi Kanbei and Sanada Maru as well as Dokuanryu Masamune, the all black mogami armor is either being worn or displayed by ieyasu however historically, some sources I've seen have said he wore a Nanban armor but for someone of Ieyasu's caliber, I'm quite sure he had more than one armor with him at Sekigahara so it's hard to pinpoint which one he wore on the day. Whether he wore the specific black armor or not, it is still quite symbolic and iconic. As for Osaka no Eki, I don't know but due to his age at the time, I don't think he wore armor especially for Natsu no Jin and also since his position at Chausuyama for the winter campaign was quite far away from any of the Siege lines on Osaka so there was no serious danger of being attacked considering the main bulk of the Tokugawa of some 30 000 men were there. Maybe he did use the bear fur armor as sort of a "troll" as you said and I think shogunate mentioned that Hideyoshi made fun of him for this armor so perhaps there is credence to this.
@@thedragonofechigo7878 my correction, I forgot to mentiom during his Osaka campaign where Ieyasu didn't really wear an armor except maybe during war council or talking to his general before battle. In Sekigahara, I agree he wore an armor as his camp was kinda close to the battlefield. Ieyasu historically did personally fight in battles during his younger days, so not surprised if his earlier armor has sign of damage while the one we see in museum probably was more like ceremonial armor he wore during council.
@@hanchiman exactly, he was part of the vanguard for Imagawa when Yoshimoto made his way to Owari to defeat Nobunaga so his earlier armor, if it's even still in existence, will have wear and tear. His Honjin at Sekigahara was very well guarded for obvious reasons plus not to mention how Tadakatsu and Naomasa were not far from his position when he moved his camp to the battlefield from Momokubari-Yama. I don't think he necessarily wore armor for war council when the objective was quite simple for the Osaka campaign, make them submit so it can all be over with and with as minimal casualty as possible. I reckon he was not even wearing any armor but perhaps a jinbaori or haori with minimal protection due to his position for the winter siege being quite far from any of the action in the Siege lines, the way I see it, it was Ieyasu taking note of all Daimyo, their actions and efforts during the Siege of Osaka so the need for him to take active command was not crucial since Daimyo, Fudai and tozama,assigned to Osaka had most of the effort to do. Surprisingly, Uesugi Kenshins Haramaki do Gusoku on display at Yonezawa has no notable signs of wear and tear, I suppose he was stationed within his Honjin, not actively engaging the opposition.
I often wondered, did some of these elaborated Kabuto ever used in battle? For example Honda Tadataktsu helmet with his deer antler where he use it for psychological warfare due to him being fearsome and will strike fear his enemies, but on the same time target for enemies to take his head. Gamo Ujisato also have a really special kabuto that resemble a bug horn. Personally my favorite kabuto is Shingen Takeda helmet with the white fur that resemble an Oni. According to the videogame Nioh that helmet is called "Suwahossho" and was Shingen favorite, also after the downfall of Takeda, Tokugawa Ieyasu took a liking to that helmet. Also I think Tachibana Munshige, the warrior of the West who is an equal of Honda Tadataktsu armor survive to this day and being kept by his descendant who made a small museum for him. Think Tokugawa didn't really wore a helmet in Osaka campaign due to him being too old to actually fight in the battlefield.
I think just as shogunate said, for Shingens Kabuto, there is no original of it so I'm not even sure if it is believed to be an armor he wore. I do have pictures of Uesugi Kenshins Haramaki do Gusoku with the gold Izuna Gongen adornment on the Kabuto which is on display at Uesugi Jinja. Yeap, Muneshiges decoration of a silver ushirodate and chicken feathers is quite something unique to be honest and I'm glad his armor is still in great condition.
@@thedragonofechigo7878 I think there is some half truth about Shingens armor though but it was romanticed to look elaborate. But in an early artwork depicting 4th battle of Kawanakajima Shingen helmet seems to wear a helmet a bit of white fur while he was holding his war fan against Kenshin sword attack. I often thought Kenshin wore a helmet that is covered in cloth to resemble a monk due to Kenshin being a Buddhist. Unless it just a romantic version. Muneshige kabuto has a big circle at the back. Think he got two set of armor with similar helmet. One with a big circle O on the Do. The Ii family still keep their ancestors Naomasa armor in good condition though. Also Maeda Keiji armor still exist as well and there are sign of it being used in battle as it looks pretty worn out.
@@hanchiman Kenshin wasn't even Buddhist by the 4th battle of Kawanakajima, he only became Buddhist in the 1570s. Perhaps there is a half truth to what Shingens armor actually looked like. As for Muneshige, It's still the same armor, the armor with the silver ushirodate and the genuine chicken feathers has the red circle on the do. Not just Naomasas but most of the Hikone Daimyo and their armors are well kept and in good shape from Naotaka to Naosuke.
Menpo is made of iron due to the fact that it was meant to be taken off for battle but there are other types of facial protection such as hanbo menpo which is seen on Honda Tadakatsu and Kuroda Nagamasas armor due to the fact that it is obstruct the eyes but still gives enough protection to wear in battle.
@@thedragonofechigo7878 Could a menpo (I'm assuming thats the actual mask that covers the face) be connected / combined with the hanbo menpo so you have face and neck covering?
@@jayusmaximus2322 Menpo and hanbo both typically had plates attached under the chin that would hang down to protect the throat. As an alternative, there was a separate piece of armor called a nodowa which was not attached to the "face mask."
I have 1 like this, exactly like this I got it when I was digging a well, I don't know if it's genuine or not, I still keep the item. If anyone is interested I can show the item
I was wondering, don't all those ornamentations make helmet simy dangerous to wear in battle ? Won't blows to the head get caught in them, instead of being deflected to the side, and thus potentially damage wearer's neck, for example ?
It should be noted that a) these helms were those of lords not rank and file samurai and thus they would have body guard protecting them in battle and generally wouldn't be as involved in the general melee.b) IIRC at least some of those ornamentations were removable and fairly easily so too c) it's possible the lords had more plain and practical helms they used when they feared they could get into melee.
Fun fact, Darth Vaders helmet is mainly based on the German WW2 helmet Stahnhelm, which was also designed to be used with Gasmask. Vaders helmet took influence off the Kabuto for the sides of the helmet being lengethed. The dome/face of the helmet is German and the sides/shikoro or "flaps" are based from Kabuto.
Great video, only critizm is sometimes you take too long explaining what you are going to explain or show on the video or are not going to explain. And then why, and then warnings of what is or isn't to be shown and then why... Don't mind a bit of explanation of what you are showing and why, but this took like 8 minutes until you start the video.
The Japanese head gear looks kinda cool but very intimidating... I would run away... Only to get a few arrows in the back and then get my head chopped clean off.
about takeda shingens armor maybe being fake I actually talk to a dude who told me that Hattori Hanzo has red and green armor that you see in the art is also fake and romanticized edo period so he told me he actually had a squirrel from a dude who actually studied Hanzo himself and he actually told me which I don't know if she's one hundred percent true or he's also wrong about it and it's someone else's armor but he told me by the dude who studied him his armor was actually an o boshi in the color was black and blue now I'm not saying this is true for sure because no one knows what his armor looks like but I do know that hanzo's armor was not red and green like in the art because I did my research and I actually found the same exact color scheme on another man from the takeda clan so I've been thought this actually maybe what they did for people who they didn't know what their armor look like they may have just made their own common colors
Not to be disrespectful of these helmets, their cultural depictions, replicas, or the appreciation of them, I am pretty sure that most of these more elegant and exaggerated forms of kabuto date to the Edo Period, when the age of warfare was already over, and not from the Sengoku, when the majority of armors were more utilitarian and simple. Don't get me wrong, I am also a fan of battle bling, but when you bring delicate stuff to the battlefield, it's probably gonna get damaged, and that's probably why high profile people had multiple sets of armor. One for showing off, and the other for actually fighting in.
These armor sets were for rich samurai who liked to beautify their armor. In addition, these beautiful designs do not affect the combat ability of the armor.
@@cn4s490 It's just an opinion, but I believe that not to be the case. You always compromise something when you add new elements to armor. Extra weight slows you down. Make it lighter or thinner, and you compromise protection. Kawari Kabuto used lots of different materials, including Papier Mâché, which is not protective at all. Kawari (変わり) literally means altered, or eccentric. All this leads me to assume that these armors were purely decorative, that Daimyo used in Edo parades and ceremonies, long after the war for unification was over. They didn't have to be functional anymore. You're more than welcome to change my mind, if you have any proof.
@@Philxia66 How much do you think their helmet decorations weigh? 50 lbs ? 100 lbs? lol In addition, Papier Mâché is not a 100% material for making samurai helmets. it's only used to decorate their hats. Their hats are still made of metal.
Check out part 2 of this video series, where I next examine more bizarre helmets! th-cam.com/video/RblIkyZMDUA/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=TheShogunate
Could you tell me who created these. Where there famous armourers
"Iconic Samurai helmets" - if you click on one does it open an app? What do you understand the word 'iconic' to mean?
though Vikings generally didn't wear horns the people they came from did which where the Celtic/Gaul people. which is where Siegfried the opera character got it from which is why Norris culture and in extension Vikings. so not entirely true but on small boats horns aren't going to help you.
I remember seeing those armors Toyotomi and Tokugawa in Osaka Castle. Totally worth going inside
How busy was it? I'm the type of person who likes to take their time in museums and the like (plus I honestly don't enjoy being too crowded in) and I am wondering if it'd be better to go in the office season/towards the tail end of the tourist season to get the most out of things.
@@WeWillAlwaysHaveVALIS do some research yourself on google instead of replying to a 2 year old comment with a question, maybe?
Stop acting like youre the main character.
No one cares what "type of person" you are at a museum, nor does anyone care that you "don't enjoy being too crowded in." No one does. And you are meant to take your time in museums. They are MUSEUMS. Not races.
There is no point in saying ANY of that. Most people are like that lmao.
You can easily answer any questions you have about it yourself. It's not that hard to use Google. I'm sure there's dozens of reviews on here, too.
@@WeWillAlwaysHaveVALIS
It's not that crowded.
Generally, the inside of a Japanese castle today is like a museum, with items used by the samurai in those days with English explanations, books, helmets, swords, and souvenir stores. It is about as crowded as a regular museum.
I saw letters written by Tokichiro inside. My sister was like nah, but to me that was fucking wild
I've waited for such a video for soooo long 😅
I think it's wonderful Japan does so much to preserve their history. I would love to see these in person!
I think because the Japanese we’re such a closed society without foreigner’s whatsoever they preserved there history and culture to a degree not many were able to do. As soon the ban against foreigners was loosened the culture changed drastically and dramatically.
Yea we ( our shit government) is trying to rewrite ours here in the states.
Seems they don't preserve certain parts of their history all too well though such as the Nanjing Massacre
There are also many pieces of armor that were destroyed in U.S. air raids.
Some were also lost in subsequent looting by U.S. forces.
Date Masamune just stands out with his kabuto adorned with a crescent moon but Honda Tadakatsu’s kabuto? Pretty badass
Tadakatsu armor is by far the most bad ass of all the sengoku daimyo. The antlers, the prayer beads, the large old school sode 😍😍😍. One day when I have enough money I’ll definitely be buying a replica
@@felixborges7440 sure, like I want to buy Uesugi Kenshins reproduction armor.
@@felixborges7440 his spear is also a nasty weapon and it adds to Tadakatsu’s reputation as the most formidable warrior of the Sengoku Jidai
@@michaelbandada9887 the Tombokiri I think it's called.
@@michaelbandada9887 He was the greatest warrior in the west and Tachibana Muneshige was the greatest in the east.
But they were both eclipsed by Sanada Nobushige who became greater than either of them.
I was were wondering what the helmets stood for and represented.
Excellent breakdown of the Clans and the Family.
Terrific research and exploration of a tough time here.
Thank you!
@@TheShogunate Can you pls make a video about armours of famous sengoku leaders and also cover about oda nobunaga 's armor .
I have been always thinking what kind armour he wore in the field of battle .
@@arunramani1724 according to some, Nobunaga wears Western armor and that is how Nobunaga is depicted in all known media, like Samurai Warriors and Nobunaga’s Ambition
@@michaelbandada9887 That depiction is most likely inaccurate and is more of a representation of his largely exaggerated westernization in pop culture.
@@arunramani1724 Nobunaga would be hard for him to do. We have no existing examples that we can point to as being his for sure, or even a reasonable guess. In addition, what descriptions we have are very vague.
My favorite is easily Takeda Shingen's. It just looks incredibly badass and a great compliment to the red armor.
really? So hideyoshi's kabuto was so-so?
oh my goodness… I’ve never seen anything like Hideyoshi’s sunburst kabuto, it’s beautiful! I can’t even imagine how terrifying it must’ve been to see the sun gleaming off this helmet on a battlefield…
Right? I mean even the greek hemet looks so-so.
My family were samurai who served the Matsudaira family, relatives of the shogun, during the Edo period. Our family has two armored helmets and four Masamune swords that have been passed down for 300 years.
Wooow
That's amazing that you have such a connection with your distant past ancestors. Most families here in the US are clueless about their deeper legacies.
@@DocHalliday we jokes in EU that US doesn't have history at all, but its true regular ppl don't know their grand grand fathers but its possible to check churches documents to own make genetic tree
@@benek8737 I know my fathers line. He was Special Forces in Vietnam, and his father was Doctor in the US Army during WW2, and his father Military Doctor as well and so on all going back to the inception of the US Calvary. I'm the one who broke that tradition and I honestly feel that's why my life has gone nowhere.
@@yodasmomisondrugs7959 As long as you wake up every day with air in your lungs, no matter what age you are, you have the chance to make your life anything you want it to be. Believe in yourself and all things are possible. 👍🏽
This channel singlehandedly feeds my curiosity about the Sengoku Jidai and other samurai stuff. All because I read Gorin no sho lol
This was not a subject that I frankly gave much more than cursory consideration. I basically just viewed them as another battlefield ornamental identifier. Thanks to this video, I now know although that this was a minor, but important consideration in their overall reason for existence. I learned a lot from this video, and look forward to expanding my knowledge on this subject.
And here I go around buying golden coloration for Sakai's heirloom scale armor from the next best traveling merchant with nothing but flowers i picked up on the way while switching between 3 equally as impressive armors, each with their own swords bows and even *saddles!*
I’ve just ordered my Hideyoshi biography and the cover is his sunburst kabuto , what a fascinating figure he was
that he was. From a son of peasant to the chancellor of japan. Many consider him a failure at unifying japan. But it was just that Yi Sun-shin was born in the time as he did.
@@DP_386 well dumas, Hideyoshi raised the biggest Japanese army and navy pre-meiji era. In hundreds of thousands. Those numbers enough for you?
My favorite helmet of Ieyasu, is his kawari kabuto from his earlier days which combined the ichi-no-tani plate like on Kuroda Nagamasa's, with a massive nail pointing skyward right behind it. I'm pretty positive this is the helmet Shingen refers to in his quote about Ieyasu having two things too worthy for him: the second thing being Tadakatsu.
Love Shogunate from India❤️❤️
My fave is Naoe just for having the kanji of love on it.
I mean out of all the things to put on your helmet, 'love' is certainly the last one that comes to my mind.
Long live the emperor
Hopefully it wasn't because of his love for killing people. 😂
One of my favorite kinds of helmets in history, good job!. Incredible works of art. Thanks for this video..
The Samaris are the most badass looking warriors ever. Love the helmets with face cover and that frown smile. So cool.
I love how war fighting changed as we transitioned from feudal age to industrial age all over the world. Disciplined Soldiers replaced fierce Warriors, science replaced art and emphasis on quantity replaced quality.
日本軍の鉄兜はこういう武将の兜の機能も考慮されていたりする。三点支持のコンバットヘルメットは見る限り当時は日本だけ。現代では顎で留めるが日本軍の鉄兜も顎で留めた。先進的だった。ドイツ軍の鉄兜も輸入され検討されたが、機動性を考えて採用されなかった。
Thank you so much for doing this video nick. Editing is great. And the music is cool.
Thanks Antony!
I really found this video very informative thank you for sharing it with us 👍🏻
I cannot believe that these were anything but ceremonial helmets, not meant to be fought in, except for the leader, who oversaw the battles from a folding chair, not meant to be physically fighting.
The snowplough kabuto is my favourite
6:33 Late sengoku/early edo period painting of the 24 generals of Takeda Shingen exists, with depiction of Takeda Shingen with his famous kabuto. Well, it looks very similar.
There is another explanation for Toyotomi Hideyoshi's kabuto having the rays of sunlight behind it. The rays are symbolic of the rays of the sun rising over Japan. Just like on their battle flag. The regular flag is the sun on a white background, while the battle flag has the rays coming out of the sun. Note also that the kabuto has a unique shape to the helmet itself - that is symbolic of one historic battle with the Mongolian's who were trying to invade and were repelled from a beach-head that had steep cliffs where samurai archers shot and sunk some of the boats. So the helmet's design is an homage to the beach, cliffs, and the sun rising behind Japan. Having the sun to one's back in a battle is also an advantage worth mentioning. One other thing you might have mentioned is that as helmets and armor evolved, samurai and lords had nostalgia about the past and wanted elements from some of the old styles on their armor. That made dating some kabuto's difficult because they had attributes that belonged to a different age.
or there is a simpler explanation. Hideyoshi needed the entire japan to cease civil war and accept his proposal to invade china as one. Everything needed to be perfect.
Your channel keeps blowing me away! keep up the good work!
Darth Vader mask actually comes from samurai. So many cool ones. Great video
It's my understanding and i could be wrong, the ornamentation such as horns were pretty easily broken and it was a good sign if they came back broken because it meant the warrior fought bravely
Shingen's kabuto is extremely epik
What really fascinates me , it's the Armor has no dents from war
Takeda Shingen’s kabuto is the coolest (in my opinion).
Samurai weren't afraid to die, as long as they died in drip
Not a surprise to hear Yukimura's helmet is most likely a work of fiction just like how Yukimura himself is just a romanticized version of Sanada Nobushige, but it's still kinda a bummer to hear it confirmed, that helmet is one of my favorites alongside Tadakatsu's helmet, Hideyoshi's sunbirth helmet and Takatora's super weird helmet.
I believe he probably had it, because a lot of old art also depicts him wearing it, but yeah nothing around today to give up 100% proof
Date Masamunate inspired Darth Vader, from his black armor to his brutal acts, his life very the Shakespearean epithet of the dark story arc, but with whole glory and riches to it, just like Alexander the Great and Octavian Caesar Augustus,
Why the F*** is some of the greatest warriors armours in the U.K.? Theses are prized pieces that should be honoured for who they belong to in the land they belonged to.
Takeda shingenis my favorite!
My top three kabuto:
Takeda Shingen
Date Masamune
Naoe kanetsugu
4. Toyotomi Hideyoshi
5. Honda Tadakatsu
Naoe Kanetsugu’s helmet is by far my favorite.
It's really cool!
Its well known with the 'love' (ai) kanji character on the helmet
Love this
Can't have samurai without the cool and sometimes birder line silly hats. The red bowl often associated with Kuroda Yoshitaka is a favorite of mine.
Also I wanna mention Shigezane Date's (Masamune's cousin) kabuto which had a centipede on it.
I wonder if there's gonna be a video on the Dō or masks
I would love to cover masks sometime
Yes please also cover the DO!
Just going to point out that Ieyasu’s helmet from the Battle of Sekigahara was unornamented, but it did come with a maetate that consisted of two gold ferns (the “wreath” mentioned), a gold ring, and a lacquered head of a “shikami.” It is because of the gold fern ring that the armor is known as the “Fern Armor.”
Homages produced in the 18th and 19th centuries for later Tokugawa shoguns have the maetate mounted, whereas the original has no such provisions. Also the masks are slightly different.
This helmet, called a daikoku-nari (after Daikoku, the god of wealth and fortune) is currently on display at Kunozan Toshogu shrine in Shizuoka.
I've come to equate the Samurai helmet with those of Europe. Both would adorn their helmets with all sorts of iconography and styles to set the wearer apart from his peers and the common foot soldiers.
There were differences, yes, but the spirit of personalizing the head gear is universal.
Two videos in one week? Very nice!
For me, my favorite Samurai kabuto are both fictional.
1. The Sakai helmet from the game Ghost of Tsushima. The deer horns make it look very intimidating, but at the same time are not so big and cumbersome.
2. The helmet that goes with the armor that Tom Cruise wore in The Last Samurai. It's a very simple yet elegant design with average size V crest on the front.
The video actually starts at 7:30, you're welcome!
Your channel needs more subscribers! Road to 1M next! Been a fan of your content since 20K subscribers. More power!
I’ve always wondered about shingen takeda’s wigged helmet. But he was not the only one depicted wearing a wigged helmet. Mitsunari ishida is often depicted wearing a wigged helmet. Were wigged helmet an actual thing or just dramatic license in kabuki plays
From the amount of real helmets we have around still today that have fur or some elements of flowing hair, I think they were definitely a real thing yet it is hard to tell which historical figures ACTUALLY had them haha
Oh this is just awesome
Kuroda Nagamasas Ichi-no-tani inspired Kabuto is just too good and unique.
Kato Tadahiro had the same sort of eboshi as Kiyomasa and by the way, the longer the Eboshi was, the higher ranking the general was.
What's interesting about the Ii clan, all the successive lords of Hikone domain from Naotaka to Naosuke used the Wakidate(Golden horns), red lacquered Yoroi and Kabuto style that Naomasa wore along with their own personalized additions such as hair as seen on Ii Naosumis armor.
Fukushima Masanoris horns were most likely made of Washi paper.
Well actually, Ieyasus armor of black Buffalo horns and bear fur is on display Owari Tokugawa museum and it is believed he was called the "Cow of Kanto" due to this armor.
As for the iconic all black armor of ieyasu, adorned with the golden fern which is a symbol of Daikokuten, a syncretic Japanese deity of wealth and prosperity, it is believed he wore it at Sekigahara and at Osaka no Eki however due to some historical records, during the Natsu no jin(summer siege) , Ieyasu didn't even wear any armor and was transported using a palanquin so I'm sure that if he did wear it, it would most likely be at Sekigahara despite popular media depictions in games and series supporting my guess.
Another interesting thing is that the original does not have the golden fern so I've still yet to come across any sources as to why it is depicted with the Golden fern as an adornment when the original does not have it.
Nagamasa: it represents the battle of Ichi-no-tani!
No Filter Mitsunari: still looks like a snow shovel
Nagamasa: that's it, I'm siding with Ieyasu
As you mentioned Ieyasu black armor, in popular drama or as historical records. Think he didn't wear his helmet at all but was wearing a cotton cushion hat. I mean he was already in his 70 by that time. I think he only wore the armor just for war council with his men.
Also his Cow of Kanto armor. Didn't he made this as a trolling armor after someone insulted him for being dumb as a cow? As being called a cow in East Asian culture is a bit negative, sort of "Strong but dumb"
@@hanchiman by the time of Sekigahara, Ieyasu was not that old but he didn't wear a Kabuto during the battle. In all series I've watched, from Aoi Tokugawa 3 generations to Gunshi Kanbei and Sanada Maru as well as Dokuanryu Masamune, the all black mogami armor is either being worn or displayed by ieyasu however historically, some sources I've seen have said he wore a Nanban armor but for someone of Ieyasu's caliber, I'm quite sure he had more than one armor with him at Sekigahara so it's hard to pinpoint which one he wore on the day. Whether he wore the specific black armor or not, it is still quite symbolic and iconic.
As for Osaka no Eki, I don't know but due to his age at the time, I don't think he wore armor especially for Natsu no Jin and also since his position at Chausuyama for the winter campaign was quite far away from any of the Siege lines on Osaka so there was no serious danger of being attacked considering the main bulk of the Tokugawa of some 30 000 men were there.
Maybe he did use the bear fur armor as sort of a "troll" as you said and I think shogunate mentioned that Hideyoshi made fun of him for this armor so perhaps there is credence to this.
@@thedragonofechigo7878 my correction, I forgot to mentiom during his Osaka campaign where Ieyasu didn't really wear an armor except maybe during war council or talking to his general before battle. In Sekigahara, I agree he wore an armor as his camp was kinda close to the battlefield.
Ieyasu historically did personally fight in battles during his younger days, so not surprised if his earlier armor has sign of damage while the one we see in museum probably was more like ceremonial armor he wore during council.
@@hanchiman exactly, he was part of the vanguard for Imagawa when Yoshimoto made his way to Owari to defeat Nobunaga so his earlier armor, if it's even still in existence, will have wear and tear.
His Honjin at Sekigahara was very well guarded for obvious reasons plus not to mention how Tadakatsu and Naomasa were not far from his position when he moved his camp to the battlefield from Momokubari-Yama.
I don't think he necessarily wore armor for war council when the objective was quite simple for the Osaka campaign, make them submit so it can all be over with and with as minimal casualty as possible. I reckon he was not even wearing any armor but perhaps a jinbaori or haori with minimal protection due to his position for the winter siege being quite far from any of the action in the Siege lines, the way I see it, it was Ieyasu taking note of all Daimyo, their actions and efforts during the Siege of Osaka so the need for him to take active command was not crucial since Daimyo, Fudai and tozama,assigned to Osaka had most of the effort to do.
Surprisingly, Uesugi Kenshins Haramaki do Gusoku on display at Yonezawa has no notable signs of wear and tear, I suppose he was stationed within his Honjin, not actively engaging the opposition.
Another excellent video. Thank you for such a kind shout out.
I highly recommend visiting the samurai museum in Dallas Texas! They have a very impressive collection of samurai armor, and it’s all here in Texas!
are all these helmets originals? they're in really good condition.
I have the Naoe Kanetsugu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi armor models of Metal Earth, so it's awesome to see the real deal in this video ^^
There is something about war and bloodshed with fashion. From armors, to military uniforms, to video games like Team Fortress 2 or For Honor.
サムライヘルメットって何のこと？ ヘルメットじゃねえと思います！
I cant get over the fact that there is a guy in Naruto named Kabuto... dude goes by "helmet" in america
9:04 I recall reading that red armour could also symbolise honour and valour. Any truth to that, or was it purely ferocity and demonhood?
I often wondered, did some of these elaborated Kabuto ever used in battle? For example Honda Tadataktsu helmet with his deer antler where he use it for psychological warfare due to him being fearsome and will strike fear his enemies, but on the same time target for enemies to take his head.
Gamo Ujisato also have a really special kabuto that resemble a bug horn.
Personally my favorite kabuto is Shingen Takeda helmet with the white fur that resemble an Oni. According to the videogame Nioh that helmet is called "Suwahossho" and was Shingen favorite, also after the downfall of Takeda, Tokugawa Ieyasu took a liking to that helmet.
Also I think Tachibana Munshige, the warrior of the West who is an equal of Honda Tadataktsu armor survive to this day and being kept by his descendant who made a small museum for him.
Think Tokugawa didn't really wore a helmet in Osaka campaign due to him being too old to actually fight in the battlefield.
I think just as shogunate said, for Shingens Kabuto, there is no original of it so I'm not even sure if it is believed to be an armor he wore. I do have pictures of Uesugi Kenshins Haramaki do Gusoku with the gold Izuna Gongen adornment on the Kabuto which is on display at Uesugi Jinja.
Yeap, Muneshiges decoration of a silver ushirodate and chicken feathers is quite something unique to be honest and I'm glad his armor is still in great condition.
@@thedragonofechigo7878 I think there is some half truth about Shingens armor though but it was romanticed to look elaborate. But in an early artwork depicting 4th battle of Kawanakajima Shingen helmet seems to wear a helmet a bit of white fur while he was holding his war fan against Kenshin sword attack.
I often thought Kenshin wore a helmet that is covered in cloth to resemble a monk due to Kenshin being a Buddhist. Unless it just a romantic version.
Muneshige kabuto has a big circle at the back. Think he got two set of armor with similar helmet. One with a big circle O on the Do.
The Ii family still keep their ancestors Naomasa armor in good condition though.
Also Maeda Keiji armor still exist as well and there are sign of it being used in battle as it looks pretty worn out.
@@hanchiman Kenshin wasn't even Buddhist by the 4th battle of Kawanakajima, he only became Buddhist in the 1570s. Perhaps there is a half truth to what Shingens armor actually looked like.
As for Muneshige, It's still the same armor, the armor with the silver ushirodate and the genuine chicken feathers has the red circle on the do.
Not just Naomasas but most of the Hikone Daimyo and their armors are well kept and in good shape from Naotaka to Naosuke.
@@thedragonofechigo7878 As a child, Kenshin Uesugi was a monk at a Buddhist temple. After his father died, he became a samurai.
I wish presidents and PMs still wore these today. Definitely cooler than a three piece suit and no headwear
These helmets, though imponent, turned its owners into targets.
I've been looking for a video about the kabuto
Great info and video, but could you please say "iconic" more?
Geesh!
I C O N I C
Iconic
Sad. Put a video in your commercials.
Rember when you could just watch a video without it being an advert. Then there is adverts anyway. What a joke man.click bait shit.
One of my favorite kinds of helmets in history, good job!
when do they evolve into Kabutops?
Notable mentions helmets of mastsudaira tadaoishi and ukita hidie
Shohei Ohtani HR celebration hat.. 👌👌👌
Friend watching samurai films with me : Why they all look like Darth Vader?
Me with some understanding of Japanese history: 🤦🏿♂️🤦🏿♂️🤦🏿♂️😓
AQUI 2024✨WOW... QUEDÉ IMPRESIONADA....😱UNA ESPECTADORA DE CHILE🇨🇱
Question : Were the masks / facial protections made of wood or were they some kind of iron ?
Menpo is made of iron due to the fact that it was meant to be taken off for battle but there are other types of facial protection such as hanbo menpo which is seen on Honda Tadakatsu and Kuroda Nagamasas armor due to the fact that it is obstruct the eyes but still gives enough protection to wear in battle.
@@thedragonofechigo7878 Could a menpo (I'm assuming thats the actual mask that covers the face) be connected / combined with the hanbo menpo so you have face and neck covering?
@@jayusmaximus2322 Menpo and hanbo both typically had plates attached under the chin that would hang down to protect the throat. As an alternative, there was a separate piece of armor called a nodowa which was not attached to the "face mask."
@@SengokuStudies Ah ok ,
thank you and to the other guy for clearing up my questions!
Magnificent craftsmanship
I have 1 like this, exactly like this I got it when I was digging a well, I don't know if it's genuine or not, I still keep the item. If anyone is interested I can show the item
sad that nobunagas kabuto was lost to history
Great video
Man, it must be a pain to wear such huge helmet.
10:47 fangirl cry!
I was wondering, don't all those ornamentations make helmet simy dangerous to wear in battle ? Won't blows to the head get caught in them, instead of being deflected to the side, and thus potentially damage wearer's neck, for example ?
It should be noted that a) these helms were those of lords not rank and file samurai and thus they would have body guard protecting them in battle and generally wouldn't be as involved in the general melee.b) IIRC at least some of those ornamentations were removable and fairly easily so too c) it's possible the lords had more plain and practical helms they used when they feared they could get into melee.
The ornaments were made out of paper mache. They’d break pretty easily.
Fun fact, Darth Vaders helmet is mainly based on the German WW2 helmet Stahnhelm, which was also designed to be used with Gasmask.
Vaders helmet took influence off the Kabuto for the sides of the helmet being lengethed. The dome/face of the helmet is German and the sides/shikoro or "flaps" are based from Kabuto.
U know who is also has antler horns on their helmet?
Tadatsugu Sakai
i love your videos but the intro on this was a bit excessive took like 7 minutes of introduction to get to the point
Honestly, some of these helmets are so ridiculous that if I saw them being worn in person I'd just start laughing.
Great video, only critizm is sometimes you take too long explaining what you are going to explain or show on the video or are not going to explain. And then why, and then warnings of what is or isn't to be shown and then why... Don't mind a bit of explanation of what you are showing and why, but this took like 8 minutes until you start the video.
Historians: actually vikings didn't have horned helmets
Samurai:
could you do a video on various datemono? im very curious about them but most sources dont speak of the datemono specifically.
Cool
Maybe I will find it on your channel or not
Why did Japanese people not develop steel armor?
can't wait for the bizarre ones!
The Japanese head gear looks kinda cool but very intimidating... I would run away... Only to get a few arrows in the back and then get my head chopped clean off.
Incredible works of art. Thanks for this video.
about takeda shingens armor maybe being fake I actually talk to a dude who told me that Hattori Hanzo has red and green armor that you see in the art is also fake and romanticized edo period so he told me he actually had a squirrel from a dude who actually studied Hanzo himself and he actually told me which I don't know if she's one hundred percent true or he's also wrong about it and it's someone else's armor but he told me by the dude who studied him his armor was actually an o boshi in the color was black and blue now I'm not saying this is true for sure because no one knows what his armor looks like but I do know that hanzo's armor was not red and green like in the art because I did my research and I actually found the same exact color scheme on another man from the takeda clan so I've been thought this actually maybe what they did for people who they didn't know what their armor look like they may have just made their own common colors
I love to learn about the Sengoku era in particular. I find it to be fascinating. Thank you for a great video!
Not to be disrespectful of these helmets, their cultural depictions, replicas, or the appreciation of them, I am pretty sure that most of these more elegant and exaggerated forms of kabuto date to the Edo Period, when the age of warfare was already over, and not from the Sengoku, when the majority of armors were more utilitarian and simple.
Don't get me wrong, I am also a fan of battle bling, but when you bring delicate stuff to the battlefield, it's probably gonna get damaged, and that's probably why high profile people had multiple sets of armor. One for showing off, and the other for actually fighting in.
These armor sets were for rich samurai who liked to beautify their armor. In addition, these beautiful designs do not affect the combat ability of the armor.
@@cn4s490 It's just an opinion, but I believe that not to be the case. You always compromise something when you add new elements to armor. Extra weight slows you down. Make it lighter or thinner, and you compromise protection. Kawari Kabuto used lots of different materials, including Papier Mâché, which is not protective at all. Kawari (変わり) literally means altered, or eccentric. All this leads me to assume that these armors were purely decorative, that Daimyo used in Edo parades and ceremonies, long after the war for unification was over. They didn't have to be functional anymore. You're more than welcome to change my mind, if you have any proof.
@@Philxia66 How much do you think their helmet decorations weigh? 50 lbs ? 100 lbs? lol
In addition, Papier Mâché is not a 100% material for making samurai helmets. it's only used to decorate their hats. Their hats are still made of metal.
Parts of the ANN & GABRIEL BARBIER-MUELLER collection are now on display in Bern, Switzerland.
Samurai Lord Kabuto armor is awesome
Well done here!👍
Nice video. Thanks
Helmet ornamentations give you no tactical advantage whatsoever.
Part of the reason for the brass and gold, polished it would glint off the sun and throw your enemies aim off.
My mother's ancestors were samurai of the Nabeshima clan, my grandmother often told me.