I bought this 1986 French paperback last weekend. Its an extensive look at Samurai armour, weapons and equipment.
The colour plates in the middle of the book have been blowing my mind . . . . .

I thought there would be plenty of peeps on SB that would enjoy these, so i scanned a few in.

Enjoy!


Samurai by The Moog Image Dump, on Flickr


Armure de type Ōyoroi by The Moog Image Dump, on Flickr


Armure de type Dōmaru by The Moog Image Dump, on Flickr


Armure de type Tōsei Gusoku by The Moog Image Dump, on Flickr


Armure de type Tōsei Gusoku 2 by The Moog Image Dump, on Flickr


Armure de type Tōsei Gusoku 3 by The Moog Image Dump, on Flickr


Insigne de casque du type Maedate by The Moog Image Dump, on Flickr


Casque de type Kōshōzan suji bachi kabuto by The Moog Image Dump, on Flickr


Tōsei Gusoku Helmet by The Moog Image Dump, on Flickr


Casque de forme Shachihoko no Kabuto by The Moog Image Dump, on Flickr


Demi-masque de type Menpō by The Moog Image Dump, on Flickr


La Têtière (Bamen) Dragon by The Moog Image Dump, on Flickr


Arcs, flèches et carquois by The Moog Image Dump, on Flickr


Selle Hiramakie by The Moog Image Dump, on Flickr

Thanks for posting these pics. I love looking at Samurai armor. Those helmets you posted pics of are amazing.

^^ Yeah, the helmets are my favourite bit of the book. I wish they had included more colour photos of them!

Thanks for sharing these, those are some great scans. There is definitely an appreciate for samurai armour among this community. The design and complexity of it, couple with the beauty and esthetic, really sets this in a whole other class of functional defense uniforms. I could certainly look at these and feudal era weapons for hours.

The labor and level of craftsmanship is just amazing!!!

I saw a great Samurai exhibit in Quebec City last year at the Museum of Civilization.
http://www.skullbrain.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=44322&p=740115&hilit=SAMURAI#p740115
The Samurai: Masterpieces from the Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Collection

I believe this exibit is going to be in Portland Oregon next or is there already (or was there).
It was better than Cats, I would see it again and again.

There was an outstanding exhibition of ceremonial Samurai helmets at the De Young here in San Francisco several years back. As you'd expect, extraordinary figurative imagination and detailed craftsmanship. I wish I'd known more about the tradition at the time but it was a great eye-opener at least.

Wired published this fascinating article on Soma Namaoi festival in Fukushima Prefecture today. Poignant photos: http://www.wired.com/rawfile/2013/12/sa ... fukushima/

^^ Nice . . . thanks for the links!