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UEM49547: Suit of Japanese armor – Gusoku

Japanese armor. Brought to Norway by Captain Amundsen in the early 1900s. Provided by Ulla Spansdahl on behalf of Morten Hallset.

Close up of a samurai helmet

A mass-produced low-quality armor known as okashi dō or "munition-grade" armor. Now with lacquer peeling and generally in worn condition. It appears that all parts belong together with the possible exception of the mask. This is something often seen: a part which was damaged was replaced with another part without attention paid to details.

With the armor follows an armor box, gusoku bitsu, UEM49548. The box has a mon, a family symbol, of three rings set in a triangle with two stylized hawk feathers (takaha) in each. One ring with two such feathers is used by different families, the combination of three such rings seem unrecorded.

As the armor itself is devoid of any mon it is impossible to tell whether the box and armor belong together. When armor was sold by thousands by the end of the 19th century, dealers would just fill up boxes.

Helmet, kabuto

Helmet bowl of six wedge-shaped plates with ribbed edges, known as six-plate suji-bachi. The plates meet in a small tehen kanamono (mount around the hole at the top), bracket for emblem, maedate.

Neck guard, shikoro: 5-piece in red lacquer on steel, laced in buff leather.

Armor UEM49547
Complete armor UEM49547 Photo: Alexis Pantos/Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo. Go to the Unimus Portal to view images in full size.

Mask, hanbō

Half-mask for the face with russet lacquer, sabi nuri (layers of urushi lacquer mixed with iron filings or iron oxide powder, to create a matte, antique, rust-like finish), four-part throat guard.

Cuirass, dō

Type mogami dō hinged at the left side.

Tassets, kusazuri: Eight thigh guards, four in front, one on each side and two in the back. They are attached to the cuirass with leather straps. Four rows of iron plates on each thigh guard are tied together with blue-green silk lacing.

Shoulder guards, sode

Made of lacquered plates, green lacing, now mounted to the arm guards.

Arm guards, kote

On the lower arms are columns of lacquered iron plates, on the rest of the arms we find chain mail on brocade.

Details on a samurai armor
The upper part of the skirt. Made of two kinds of leather and a green-yellowish brocade decorated with silk treads. The various pieces are stitched together with a silk braid in variations of green and leather-like light brown/yellowish.

Skirt, haidate

Made of 4 rows with 9 plates in each, lacquered brown. Mounted on blue brocade.  

Shin guards, suneate

With the same iron plates, chain mail and brocade as the arm guards. Except for the lacquer. On the chin guards, the iron plates are lacquered sabi nuri (see mask).

By Per Terje Norheim, Lars Risan and Anne Håbu
Published Sep. 19, 2025 2:04 PM - Last modified Dec. 9, 2025 5:46 PM