The Samurai were the warrior class during the Japanese medieval era. Samurai were the semi-nobles attached to a particular daimyo (lord) to conduct the defense of his fieldom. What isn’t often mentioned was their contributions to learned and high culture. Aside from their warrior culture of Bushido (code favoring honor over life), they engaged in poetry writing and were devotees of many of the fine arts. They were particularly attracted to Zen Buddhism and highly respected and advanced the appreciation in Japanese culture of the Zen-influenced praxis of the tea ceremony (see Tea Ceremony). In the Meiji era, they were banned as a group and turned to administrative roles in society.
The Regelski Collection contains several reminders of the warrior culture especially a variety of swords and a major selection of jingasa, the helmets worn by troops. The armor of a Samurai during war periods was formidable and of bodily proportion that protected everything vulnerable to attack, even the nose. Samurai often carried two swords, one a long sword strung from the shoulder and one short sword tucked into the belt (see example on the right, notice also the arrows in the right hand and long bow in the left). Very long swords were found to be unwieldy in battle and often were shortened during the Edo era (when, in any case, battles were progressively infrequent). Some of these survived until the Meiji era during which time they were decorated for ceremonial purposes, “modern warfare” by now in ready for WWI.
The collection also features a Samurai kazaridana (Samurai display cabinet, Edo) that is fully decorated on both sides. It is shown under the furniture categories as laden with fine objects of the day.
The elegance and beauty of of Samurai utensils covered all aspects of their life and activities. Guess what the the decorated lacquerware box on the right is?
Its beauty hides a horrendous history. The box is Kubi-oke, a container used for the storage and transportation of severed heads. This box still has stains of dry blood on the bottom.
