Menpō/Samurai Mask, Iwai School (environment of Iwai Yozaemon)
Momoyama to Early Edo (1600 -1630)
The iron mask (Menpō 面頬) in Etchū-bo style consists of two assembled parts. The surface of the mask is lacquered in a dark red brownish Urushi with an orange-red boar or bear fur mustache. The interior is lacquered in brownish-black.
It is heavily influenced by (and possibly created by) Iwai Yozaemon.* He was one of the leading members of the Iwai school and one of the main armorers to the ruling Tokugawa family. The Iwai, not unlike the Haruta (春田) and Sakonshi (左近士), was one of the oldest armorer schools of Japan and active in Nara from the Muromachi-Period, producing two main styles of masks – the Oie-bo and the Etchū-bo.
*Side Note, taken from the Royal Collection Trust: Armours by Iwai Yozaemon in other European royal collections indicate that this was a popular diplomatic gift from the Tokugawa family, easily available from a regular and reliable source.
THE FUTAGO COLLECTION 