Helmet with Tengu Mask and Crows

Beginning in the sixteenth century, armorers contrived eccentrically shaped helmets (kawari kabuto), sometimes fashioned of papier-mâché mixed with lacquer, or, as here, entirely of iron. Their shapes often were inspired by images from traditional Japanese culture and mythology. Here, the face is the mythical tengu (mischievous mountain spirit) with a beak-shaped mouth, flanked on each side by embossed crows.