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陳列室
BISHAMON-GOTE
毘沙門小手
For this commision I was presented with one remaining sleeve from a mid-Edo period armour, the other sleeve forming the pair having been lost at some point in the past. This type of sleeve is classified as Bishamon-gote, where the lamellar protection for the top of the arm, (usually encountered as a pair of seperate components called the Sode 袖, are made as one with the sleeve.
All parts of the new sleeve were made entirely by hand using traditional techniques consistent with those of the original sleeve. One piece steel sheet, forged and embossed was used to make the metal sections such as the Tekko 手甲 (protection for the back of the hand), the Shino 篠 (splints on the forearm) and the Sode 袖 (protection for the upper arm). In this case the Sode are hinged vertically for flexibilty, steel pins holding the separate parts together. For the chain mail (Kusari 鎖) original Edo period chain mail was sourced and used. All the metal components were lacquered using genuine Japanese lacquer (Urushi 漆) The colour being a semi-translucent blackish brown to match the original sleeve.
The fabric sections of the new sleeve was made using vintage Japanese hemp cloth known as Asa 麻. The outer fabric dyed a very dark blue, the inner a very pale blue, both using natural indigo dye. At the very top of the sleeve is a small collar called the Tate-eri 立襟.. This is in fact a form of brigandine where small steel hexagonal plates are sewn between a layer of cloth with a facing of smoked deerskin (Fusube-gawa 燻革). Dark blue pure silk braid (Odoshi-ito 威糸) is sewn through the layers and the steel plates for added strength and a finished appearance.The same Odoshi-ito is also used for lacing the plates of hinged Sode together.
Japanese armour restorer
Japanese armour restorer
Japanese armour restorer
Japanese armour restorer
Japanese armour restorer
Japanese armour restorer
Japanese armour restorer
Japanese armour restorer
Japanese armour restorer
Japanese armour restorer
Japanese armour restorer
Japanese armour restorer
Japanese armour restorer
Japanese armour restorer
Samurai armour restoration
Samurai armour restoration
Samurai armour restoration
Samurai armour restoration
Samurai armour restoration
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Japanese Armor Restorer
Japanese Armor Restorer
Japanese Armor Restorer
Japanese Armor Restorer
Japanese Armor Restorer
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Japanese armour conservation
Japanese armour conservation
Japanese armour conservation
Japanese armour conservation