EDO PERIOD (CIRCA 1810)

The classic style armor, O-yoroi was developed for use in mounted combat during the Heian period (AD794-1185) when the bow was a leading weapon. The large tehen no ana (aperture at the crown of the helmet), although arising from the method of construction using riveted plates, was originally used to fix the helmet on the head by means of the topknot. The large fukigaeshi and hiro-sode could be presented to the opponent as shields against his arrows, which service was also provided by the two pendant breast pieces. All early armors were composed of rows of hon-kozane (individual scales) laced together with silk braid, and some armors had double layers of such. Several hundred small scales would be used on the cuirass alone, either of hardened leather, iron, or alternating those materials. They were lacquered over in rows, and linked vertically by silk braid.
The custom of making armors in classic style for both ceremonial and ritual use dates from the late Muromachi period (1392 - 1604), but was universal among the daimyo (provincial lords) during the Edo period (1604 - 1868). Such ritual armors were very expensive and worn only on certain occasions like the annual passage in and out of the capital city, Edo, but often displayed on festive occasions or dates in respect of ancestors. The custom continued even after the end of the Edo period when armor no longer fulfilled a practical function.
The accompanied document states Matsuura Hiromu ordered Nagamura Seisai (1767-1820) and Funakoshi Sadakuni to make this armor in 1810.