Armor (Yoroi) with Dark Blue Lacing

This large armor (ō-yoroi) set has been passed down as having been worn by Shimazu Nariarkia (1809–1858). Ō-yoroi originated during the Heian and Kamakura periods as armor worn by upper-class warriors and was basically for cavalry, being developed for mounted archery combat. After the Nanbokuchō period, the main combat was done by bands of foot soldiers, and as the fighting at close quarters grew to be the norm, eventually lighter-weight armor that one could wear more easily, like the dōmaru and the haramaki, supplanted it. With the introduction of guns to Japan at the end of the Muromachi period, functionally superior “modern armor” (tosei gusoku) replaced the old, which essentially ceased to be used in actual warfare. Still, after the civil wars ended, in the Edo period, daimyo families again sought old armor as a symbol of their authority, valuing them as highly ceremonial objects.
This set of armor also follows the basic traditional form of a ō-yoroi with a cuirass (dō) and dangling strips at the right chest (sendan no ita) and left chest (kyūbi no ita), as well as a right cuirass plate (waidate) with tasset (kusazuri), a helmet (kabuto), and large sleeve plates (ō-sode). To this, however, it adds a faceplate (bō-ate), armored glove–sleeves or vambrace (kote), thigh guards or cuisse (haidate), and shin guards or greaves (sune-ate) from the tosei gusoku armor, thus creating a pseudo old style. The large metal fittings (suemon kanagu) represent a cross in a circle, the crest of the Shimazu clan, and according to one story, the gilding on these decorative metal fittings was the first to be done with electroplating. This excellent armor was made with meticulous care for detail fitting for a leading lord. In addition to having a high level of perfection as armor, the accompanying decorative accessories prove extremely valuable for recognizing and understanding the revival of old armor among the daimyo families at the end of the Edo period.