Enter the world of the samurai through the extraordinary craftsmanship of Japanese arms and armor. From 5th-century helmets to Edo-period sword guards, each object is both a functional weapon and a masterpiece of metalwork, lacquer, and design.
The Japanese samurai class elevated the art of war to an unparalleled level of aesthetic refinement. A samurai's armor was not merely protection — it was a statement of identity, status, and artistic taste. Sword fittings were miniature sculptures, created by master metalworkers whose skills rivaled the finest jewelers.
This exhibition presents highlights from the Metropolitan Museum's world-renowned Arms and Armor collection, one of the finest assemblages of Japanese martial arts outside Japan. It includes complete suits of armor spanning a thousand years, from ancient iron helmets to the elaborate composite armor of the Edo period.
The exhibition also features the art of the sword in all its forms — blades by legendary smiths, intricate sword guards (tsuba) depicting nature, mythology, and daily life, and ornamental fittings that transformed weapons into objects of contemplation.
Curator
Vasily Gnuchev
Visibility
Public
Myōchin Munesuke|Saotome Ietada
Iron, lacquer, silk, gilt copper
Iron, lacquer, leather, silk, gilt copper
Ishiguro Masayoshi
Copper-gold alloy (shakudō), gold, copper-silver alloy (shibuichi), copper
Sukemitsu of Bizen|Yasumitsu|Iwamoto Konkan
Steel, wood, lacquer, copper-silver alloy (shibuichi), gold, copper, rayskin, silk
