ART
Samurai Armor
at LACMA

LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) presented an exhibition of samurai armor on loan from the collection of the Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Museum in Dallas. The Barbier-Mueller has one of the largest and most important collections of its kind in the world. It is composed of nearly three hundred objects, several of which are considered masterpieces, including suits of armor, helmets, masks, horse armor, and weaponry. The objects date from the 12th to the 19th century, with a particularly strong focus on Edo-period armor.

Travel back in time and discover remarkable objects that illuminate the life, culture, and pageantry of the samurai, the revered and feared warriors of Japan. The Samurai Collection of Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller, one of the finest and most comprehensive collections in the world, presents a treasure trove of battle gear made for high-ranking warriors and daimyo (provincial governors) of the 14th through 19th centuries. The exhibition illustrates the evolution of samurai equipment through the centuries, featuring more than 140 objects of warrior regalia, with full suits of armor, helmets and face guards, weapons, horse trappings, and other battle gear.

During the centuries covered by the exhibition, warfare evolved from combat between small bands of equestrian archers to the clash of vast armies of infantry and cavalry equipped with swords, spears, and even matchlock guns. Arms and armor were needed in unprecedented quantities, and craftsmen responded with an astonishingly varied array of armor that was both functional and visually spectacular, a celebration of the warrior’s prowess. Even after 1615, when the Tokugawa military dictatorship brought an end to battle, samurai families continued to commission splendid arms and armor for ceremonial purposes. Because the social rank, income, and prestige of a samurai family were strictly determined by the battlefield valor of their ancestors, armor became ever more sumptuous as the embodiment of an elite warrior family’s heritage.

The exhibition is accompanied by a fully-illustrated catalogue,

with essays by leading Japanese samurai armor experts.

Art of Armor: Samurai Armor

Samurai Armor Poster

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi ‘Warrior’ Kerchief

This is adapted from a rare sketch, Finished Drawing of a Warrior from around 1878 that would have been used by a craftsman to create a woodblock print. LACMA’s permanent collection includes over 400 additional works by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Below: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi 16″ x 20″ Reproduction Prints

Tsukiioka Yoshitoshi: ‘Kibi Daijin’ Journal

Samurai 500 Piece Puzzle

Secrets of the Samurai: The Martial Arts of Feudal Japan

(Source: LACMA website)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Japanese Armor
in their permanent collection (NYC)

(Source: All photos int he above Met Museum section taken by ARTSnFOOD staff, with permission of The Met. Museum of Art)

FOOD – Home-made Sushi Can Be Easy!

SushiQuik Manufactures

a Kit Making Sushi

Fun and Easy

for the sushi chef challenged!

by SushiQuik

The easiest way to make sushi! Easy for the whole family to use.
Detachable sushi mat so you can put it in the dishwasher with silverware
Comes complete with training frame, non-stick paddle, and the SushiQuik Roll Cutter
Makes all sushi roll sizes including rolls with rice on the outside.
Easiest and most complete sushi kit on the market.