ETHAS 017214

Japon armure au dragon et bonji

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017214
Armour with protective syllables in Sanskrit, bonji 梵字
Japan
18th century
Steel, brocade
Alfred Bertrand collection; gift of his widow Alice Bertrand in 1940
Sanskrit syllables invoke the protection of Buddhist gods. On the helmet: khān (skr. hām) the King of Science Acala (Fudō Myōō 不動明王); on the breastplate: baku (bhah) Śākyamuni Buddha (Shaka 釋迦), bai (bhai) Bhaiṣhajaguru, the Buddha of Medicine (Yakushi 薬師), and un (hūm) Akṣobya Buddha (Ashuku 阿閦). The crest, a stylised “paulownia with five and three flower spikes” (gosan no kiri 五三桐) appears on the helmet and breastplate.

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Japan of the samurai

Unlike China, Japan has always had only one imperial dynasty, which continues today. Its legitimacy stems from the uninterrupted succession of emperors, which mythology traces back to the sun goddess, Amaterasu. But from the 12th to the 19th centuries, real power was wielded by military juntas, directed by a commander-in-chief (shōgun) and based successively in Kamakura, Kyōto (Muromachi) and Edo (Tōkyō). The feudal period saw the rise of the military class (samurai ) attached to various local lords (daimyo 大名).

Samurai in armour, <i>Views & Costumes of Japan, </i>by<i> </i>Stillfried & Andersen, Yokohama, around 1870.

Samurai in armour, Views & Costumes of Japan, by Stillfried & Andersen, Yokohama, around 1870. Alfred Bertrand collection © MEG Inv. ETHPH 411917

Bibliograpy

  • Eracle, Jean. 1991. Civilisation des Samurai. Genève / Ivrea : Musée d'ethnographie / Priuli & Verlucca, n° 49-50
  • Eracle, Jean. 1983. Les samurai : objets d'arts, armes et armures de l'ancien Japon dans les collections du Musée d'ethnographie de Genève. Genève : Musée d'ethnographie, pl. coul. 20

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