Kosakurawei Yellow Return Armor (with Helmet and Large

A Heian Warrior's Armor on the Island of the Gods

The lacquered scales on this suit of armor are wider than a grown man's thumb, and the leather cords binding them are broad to match. Set beside the trim, closely articulated armor of later centuries, the effect is deliberately massive. This is the Kozakura-gawa Kigaeshi-odoshi armor, an ōyoroi of the Heian period kept at Itsukushima Shrine on the island of Miyajima in Hiroshima Prefecture. It is among the oldest nearly complete suits of its kind anywhere in Japan.

An ōyoroi was the armor of a mounted archer. Its boxy cuirass and wide skirt of laced plates were built to be worn on horseback, with the heavy weight carried on the rider's hips and shoulders rather than slung from the waist. This example measures 72.7 centimeters in height. The helmet bowl rises 11.5 centimeters, and the large shoulder guards, or ōsode, run 46.5 centimeters.

The armor takes its long name from its lacing. Deer hide was stenciled with a pattern of small cherry blossoms, then over-dyed yellow in a technique called kigaeshi, literally a "return to yellow." Cut into narrow strips, this patterned leather laces together hundreds of small black-lacquered plates known as kozane.

The Legend of Minamoto no Tametomo

Shrine tradition holds that the armor belonged to Minamoto no Tametomo, uncle of the famous brothers Yoritomo and Yoshitsune. Tametomo was remembered as a giant, said to stand over two meters tall and to draw a bow so powerful that five ordinary men were needed to string it. He fought on the losing side of the Hōgen Rebellion of 1156 and passed into legend as one of the great warriors of his age. Armor this large and this forceful seemed a natural match for such a figure.

The attribution deserves some caution. Records compiled up to the end of the Edo period, including the antiquarian survey Shūko Jisshū, mention no link to Tametomo at all. Because Itsukushima Shrine was lavishly patronized by Taira no Kiyomori and his clan, some specialists suggest the armor may in fact have come from the Taira side. What is certain is that the suit dates to the twelfth century and was dedicated at the shrine long ago.

It was recognized as an Important Cultural Property in 1899 and elevated to National Treasure on 9 June 1951. Very few ōyoroi from the Heian period survive at all, which makes this one significant regardless of whose shoulders once carried it.

What to Look For

The first thing to register is sheer scale. Armorers of the period called this manner ō-arame, a "large rough weave," after its oversized plates and broad lacing. The cuirass flares outward toward the hem, giving the suit a powerful, top-heavy silhouette quite unlike the compact armor most visitors expect.

Then there is the helmet. Its bowl was hammered from a single sheet of iron, lacquered black, and worked into twelve raised ribs in the style called suji-buse. Rows of standing rivets, known as hoshi, or "stars," march across the surface. A neck guard of five tiers hangs at the back, its lower rows flaring out at the sides into wide flanges.

Look closely at the lower edges and you will find crimson deerskin stitched into tight diamond patterns. Some parts have been lost over eight centuries. The kyūbi-no-ita that once shielded the left chest and the waidate that closed the right side are both gone. Even so, the body, the helmet, the great sleeves, and the hanging tassets all remain, and the original form reads clearly.

When the suit goes on public display, it is usually set out so that visitors can walk around it. Take the time to circle to the back, where the lacing patterns and the silvered metal fittings are at their most intricate.

Visiting Miyajima and the Shrine Treasures

Itsukushima Shrine is known the world over for the great vermilion torii gate that appears to float on the sea at high tide, and for the worship halls built out over the water. The complex took its present form under Taira no Kiyomori in the late twelfth century, and it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.

A practical note for anyone hoping to see the armor itself. The shrine's Treasure Hall, a striking lacquer-coated concrete building from 1934 that is a registered cultural property in its own right, displays high-quality replicas of the National Treasures rather than the originals. The genuine pieces, this armor among them, are shown to the public during a special exhibition held in most years from late November into December, in a separate storehouse behind the shrine. The armor is also lent out from time to time for major exhibitions elsewhere, so it is wise to check ahead.

Reaching the island is half the pleasure. Ferries cross from Miyajimaguchi, a short train ride from Hiroshima, in about ten minutes, and the shrine is a fifteen-minute walk from the pier. Tame deer wander the streets, the temple complex of Daishō-in climbs the slope above town, and a ropeway up Mount Misen rewards the trip with long views across the Inland Sea.