A JAPANESE HOSHI SUJI KABUTO (STAR RIDGED HELMET) IN EXCAVATED CONDITION, CIRCA 1400-1600

with a low domed skull formed of twenty overlapping iron plates, each joined by a vertical arrangement of rivets with robust conical heads and retaining a portion of the mabezashi (peak). There are traces of lacquer on the surface of the plates Japanese helmets were formed of iron plates riveted vertically with the ends protruding to form a hoshi kabuto (star helmet). As well as being decorative, these rivet ends provided extra protection against a sword cut. The top of the helmet originally had a decorated hole which created some ventilation for the head during battle. This style of helmet developed during the Kamakura period (1185-1333) but continued to be produced in successive centuries.