Why Samurai Armor have Masks

Описание: The part of the samurai armor that protects the face is called 面頬 menbō.

But did they have to be so gorgeous?

Menbō is believed to have existed from the Heian period (794-1185), but it was in the late Muromachi period (1336-1573) that it started to develop in its own unique way.

Why this time period?

It is said because this was the era when Noh theatre, the traditional performance using masks, became popular. In other words, under the influence of Japan's oldest stage performance art, the menbō came to serve as a decorative mask.

Vigorous and angry expressions sparked the fighting spirit of the person wearing it, the unnatural smiling ones baffled the enemies, and the ones imitating a tengu was for gaining divine power, and so on.

By the way, the membō can be divided into five types: Happuri, Hitai-até, Hanbō, Menoshita-bō, and Sōmen. The ones with facial expressions are Menoshita-bō and Sōmen.

However Sōmen are obviously not designed to be very efficient in actual battle, and it is said that most of them were probably created for ornamental purposes around the peaceful Edo period.

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