Koboshi kabuto

Early Edo Period, 17th Century

A 62-plate koboshi-bachi [helmet bowl with small standing rivets] of typical tenkokuzan form, with 30 pointed rivets on each plate decreasing in size towards the top, with the exception of the larger front plate, with three lines of rivets and the small one on the back which is left blank, for a total of 1,890 rivets.

Even if unsigned, the tenkokuzan shape of the bowl (bachi), lower in the center and slightly higher on the back and some other features such as the number and arrangement of rivets, suggest an attribution to the Haruta school, one of the oldest armor schools of Japan.

As common for high level helmets, the kabuto bachi has probably been mounted on a samurai armor some 100 years later . Some features on the neck protection (shikoro) suggest that this happened in the region of Kaga: the Dutch leather on the fancy fukigaeshi and the last plate with the typical gold and black striped finish are in fact common decorations of the samurai armor from this area.

On this page is a comprehensive glossary of common terms related to samurai armor.