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Lot Essay
This helmet from the present suit of armor is called momonari kabuto (peach-shaped helmet), constructed from four iron plates. The prototype of this type of kawari kabuto (eccentric or unconventional helmet) became particularly fashionable during the Momoyama period (late 16th to early 17th century), an era celebrated for its bold aesthetics and theatrical assertions of power among rival daimyo.
The present example is distinguished by its dramatic wakidate (side crests) formed as water buffalo horns. Such forceful, zoomorphic ornamentation amplified the wearer’s battlefield presence, projecting strength, authority, and intimidation. At once protective equipment and visual spectacle, the helmet exemplifies the Momoyama taste for expressive silhouettes and sculptural dynamism, transforming martial gear into a statement of identity and rank.
The most celebrated peach-shaped helmet is preserved in the Fukuoka City Museum and is registered as an Important Cultural Property. Once belonged to the prominent warlord Kuroda Nagamasa (1568–1623), it was later exchanged for the Ichi-no-Tani kabuto, the famed helmet named after the battle renowned for a daring cliff-side cavalry descent, owned by Fukushima Masanori (1561–1624). The peach-shaped helmet remained within the Fukushima family lineage until it was formally returned to the Kuroda clan in the fifth month of the fifteenth year of the Tenpo era (1844).
The present example is distinguished by its dramatic wakidate (side crests) formed as water buffalo horns. Such forceful, zoomorphic ornamentation amplified the wearer’s battlefield presence, projecting strength, authority, and intimidation. At once protective equipment and visual spectacle, the helmet exemplifies the Momoyama taste for expressive silhouettes and sculptural dynamism, transforming martial gear into a statement of identity and rank.
The most celebrated peach-shaped helmet is preserved in the Fukuoka City Museum and is registered as an Important Cultural Property. Once belonged to the prominent warlord Kuroda Nagamasa (1568–1623), it was later exchanged for the Ichi-no-Tani kabuto, the famed helmet named after the battle renowned for a daring cliff-side cavalry descent, owned by Fukushima Masanori (1561–1624). The peach-shaped helmet remained within the Fukushima family lineage until it was formally returned to the Kuroda clan in the fifth month of the fifteenth year of the Tenpo era (1844).