East Meets West: European Armour in Japan, It's History and Influence on the Japanese Counterpart

A full-color museum catalog for the special exhibition of Japanese and Western armour put on display at the Itabashi Musuem in Tokyo. Catalog contains plates of Western armours and other related artiifacts that were imported to Japan from the 1500's onward, and also Japanese armours whose designs were influenced by these items. The main body of the catalog consists of two articles by Shige Toshi Miura and Andrew Mancabelli which trace the history of Western Armour in Japan and compare and contrast the craftmanship of these two arts. This exhibition is the first of its kind and the text offers very good insight in understanding the development of Japanese armour from the 1500's onward. The book is translated completely in English and Japanese and is no longer in print. The exhibition shows some very rare, never-before-seen armors, given by Napoleon III to the Emperor of Japan, and a 16th century German helmet sent Adolph Hitler to the Mino Sword Guild.