The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1905-01-21
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NIPPLE NTsE oF An II WERE mi
USE lin EEuD Al TIMES

MENtSgso SNtAtSS5s II ttAIsNE REalk
Il; s3Ss USE N lsFEU Az TINES i;Sss
The lance and Row We're Noble
weapons. nut the sword. pom
watch Wan Laxished All the RE
sources of Art, outranlSeds Th en-:
In the Detroit Museum or Art rs an
Interesting collection OF war Implements
of old Japan. Two complete suits Of
,armor arc in the collection. One OF
these dates from the sixteenth century;
the other Is of more modern date, but
exactly like 1t In all Its parts. 4 a com.
plcte suit Of armor us worn by tho. Jap.
3anese soldiers Of the higher class pre-.
,;vious to 1870 consists of a helmet, chain
mail in parts and breast armor, Etogeth.
err with two hip pieces. Chain mall
pantaloons, lined with sllk brocade, pro.
tect the thighs. They arc worn under
the hip pieces. An iron mask, covers In
some cases the entire visage,g In Others
only the nose, cheeks and chin, ,hlow.
Ing the eyes to be uncovered. and these
are protected by the broad helmet. The
shoulders are protected by two pieces,
with fine bronze openwork mountings.
Upon these are fittings in which In bat.
ties a small flag Is fastened bearing the
crest or. monogram OF the wearcr.
Chain armor sleeves protect the arms.
The back Of the hand is protected by
embossed iron. A body piece covers the
chest md back, held together by tylngs
OF heavy silk green braid. In tho back
Of this are two sockets for tho banner
pole. The helmet is made Of heavy
lacQucred iron. Two crests branch
from the front In moon shaped man.
ner, and between them Is a bronze disk
representing the sun. A pair Of sandals
completes the outfit. This armor Is cx.
ceedingly heavy and looks impregnablc
to such weapons as were used.
The lance and bow were noble weap.
ons, but the sword outranicd them. a
sword with the Japanese : in fcudal
times was the most Important OF MI
weapons In war and for personal use.
Iyeyasu. who was the first great sho-
gun of sTokugawa,, 10000, termed The
sword .'the soul OF the samurai." 10
him it was the most important OF his
possessions.
Upon this weapon the Japanese Inv.
ishcd all the resources OF their art
The forging OF the blade became a high
art, and Its experts won great honor
and fame. The making OF IL famed
bladeSwas n subject OF meditation anu
prayer; upon the scabbnrd was lavish.
cd all tho lacqucrcr's skill; to the guard
and other metal mountings were given
an inGnite variety Of lessons from Ma
ture and her creatures and from reli.
gious and symbolic legends. The high
er classes wore two, and the children
of these classes commenced carly IN
youth to wear; wooden ones. Tie prop
er use of the. sword was made a part
Of the system OF education, ana the
ceremonies attending its use In every.
day life were most elaborate ana mi.
mute. ~ A 4 4, VI 4;
The abolition OF the shogunates In
1903 was soon followed Byga decree
abollshing the wearing OF the sword;
hence there came into disuse hundreds
Of thousands of beautifully decorated
weapons, which have been distributed
all over the world.
| A time was III Japan when mans
station could be determined by the
sword heworc at his side. A person
magnificently CARRIED with an ordinary
weapon would be adjudged OF low dc.
gree, while n poorlys dressed person
wearing a fine sword would be extend
ed distinguished homage. a fortune
was invested In arms. A rich noble
often possessed 1900 swords, some Of
them costing $1,400, and the daimlos
Wed with each other In owning elegant
specimens OF the armorer's craft. All
the metal work of Japan. the beautiful
designs and exquisite hainmering, are
duo to the many wars. The ornamen-
tation Of the guard and swords acces.
series have been the craze Of tourists
and collectors for thirty years.
The most important parts OF "a Jap.
anese sword are: The tsuba or guard, a
fat piece Of metal usually circular or
oval in form, perforated by triangu.
lar aperture for the admission Of the
blade. At either side are. one or more
openings for the Judgment Of two 9TH
er accessories, called the kodzuka, or
small dagger, and the kogal, or skcwer.
The guards are usually entire in de.
sign. A fish, serpcnta horse, noun.
tain landscape and many other features
of nature are introduced Into the dc.
sign Of these sword guards. The han.
dies Of the small dagger and the skew
ers, are also exquisltely decorated with
inlald mother Of pearl in design or
wrought images In the metal itself.
Crabs, Holsters, serpcnts and dragons
enter very largely into their dccora tons
OF the dagger. The skewcr usually has
upon its handle some pattern or model,
I