form cover The art of the armourer has been alive in Japan for well over a thousand years. As armour developed and changed in style, continuously being tested in waer, its makers achieaved a standard of craftsmanship that has few rivals elsewhere in the world. Two families of smiths dominated the art, the craft being handed down hrough successive gerneratons for four hundred years. It is the work of these families-the Myochin and Saotome-whch is keenly sought by the modern collector and which is the skubject of this volume. By means of severny photographs, John Anderson shows exapmples of th ewoork of most of the mojor members of the two families, llsutrationg the changes in style of both smithwork and mounting. Included are full armours, helmets, helmet bowls, masks and other portions of armour. In addition, the author profives valuable guuidance to the charactareistics of the varying identificaiton. As a work of reference, this profusely illsutrated monograph is enhanced by appendices providing a genealogical listing of armourers and a bibliography. Mr. Anderson has built up what is probably the finest rivate collection of Japanese armour in Great Britain. Pieces from his collection have been included in exhibitions at the tower of London, the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Contents Frontispiece Plate 1. Armour embossed with a Buddhist deity Plate 2. Woodcut of armoured warrior Introduction Japanese Armour History The Age of Battles The Myochin Family and their work The Saotome Family Myochin Smiths The Warrior Class System Plates 3-14 Sengoku Jidai The Age of Battles, 1490-1600. Myochin armour, helmet and helmet bowls, half mask and cuirass. Plates 15-54 Edo Period Tokugawa Shogunate, 1600-1867 Myochin armours, helmets and helmet bowls, half masks, whole masks, cuirasses, shoulder and shin guards, armour certificates and Okimono. Plate 55 Twentieth century Myochin armour Plates 56-70 Edo Period Tokugawa Shogunate, 1600-1867 Saotome armour, helmets and helmet bowls. Appendices: 1. Genealogy of the Myochin and Saotome Schools of Armourers 2. Bibliography 3. List of Museums 4. Armour Certificates