Tokugawa Ieyasu’s Golden Armor
Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542–1616) wore this suit of gilded armor as a young man. At 19 years old, he wore it while leading the difficult operation of getting provisions into Otaka Castle during the Battle of Okehazama. The battle was a turning point in Japanese history, consolidating the position of the victorious Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582) in his bid to re-unify Japan after a long period of civil war. Many samurai, including Ieyasu, pledged their support after the battle.
Armor like this, with large iron plates covering the front and back of the torso, was common in the late 1500s and was widely used following the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. The two plates are connected by hinges on the left side of the body and by ties on the right. The cording on the breastplate is original.
Important Cultural Property