ASMR at the museum | Deconstructing samurai armour | V&A

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// Listen with headphones for best experience //

Join conservators Dana Melchar, Robert Mitchell and Roisin Morris as they work as a team to dismantle a delicate 18th-century suit of samurai armour, so that it can be transported to Young V&A. Rather than being used for battle, this armour was a decorative piece, worn when the feudal lords would march from their home domain to Edo (present day Tokyo), to meet and stay with the Tokugawa shogun (military leader). The long journey provided a perfect opportunity for extravagant procession, where they showcased their social status and personal tastes – as seen through the armour.

Watch and listen as Dana, Robert and Roisin carefully untie intricate knots and take photographs to document the process, so that the armour can be correctly reconstructed once moved.

00:00 Who was it made for?
01:27 How was it made?
01:52 How will it be conserved?
02:25 Untying the helmet and lifting it off
04:24 Photographing knot placement
05:08 Removing the mask
06:07 Untying the neckpiece
06:25 Peek at the original colour
07:23 Untying knot on rear cuirass
08:30 Banner holder
09:05 Untying shoulder panel
11:06 Leather strap
12:46 Was this worn for battle?

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I can’t think of anything more stressful than trying to undo a knot on a priceless artifact while your boss hovers over you with a camera

tsundear

For those who may be as interested in the person who wore this as I was, the information given at ca. 0:36 and 0:53, respectively, makes it possibly to identify the (first) wearer for whom this suit of armour was made in 1741 as Akita Yorisue (1696-1743), who ruled as daimyo (feudal lord) of Miharu from 1720 to 1743. You can read a bit more about him in the English wikipedia article on "Miharu Domain". Interestingly, he only became the ruler of this domain because his predecessor Akita Terusue had lost his only son in 1715. Akita Terusue then became so melancholic that he not only handed all (de facto) power over to a samurai retainer called Araki Takamura, but even adopted Araki's son Araki Yorisue as his new heir, giving him the family name of Akita in the process. Yorisue therefore came to rule the domain despite being no more than a very distant relative of the previous daimyo, which apparently caused controversy among the closer relatives of clan Akita.

While Yorisue's adoption was combined with his marriage to a daughter of the deceased son and heir of his adoptive father (a marriage clearly concluded to make his succession more acceptable by linking him to the main Akita bloodline), he eventually left his domain to a son he had had with a concubine. All subsequent lords of Miharu up to the end of the Japanese feudal system in 1871 were therefore descended only from Akita Yorisue (born Araki Yorisue), and not from the previous heads of the house of Akita.

This was possible because the Tokugawa Shogunate which ruled all over Japan confirmed this succession, probably from a clever strategical point of view (i.e. allowing the throne to pass to an outsider to remind members of the feudal dynasties that they should never be too sure of their inheritances, and that ultimately the thing that mattered more than anything else was being in the good graces of he Tokugawa rulers). It also means that Akita Yorisue for whom this suit of armour was made had an even stronger motive for wanting to look the part of a genuine feudal lord (and hence, a mighty commander of warriors) precisely because people knew he was in reality only the son of a low-ranking samurai. Finally, keep in mind that by that time there hadn't been any war at all in Japan for 126 years, meaning this suit of armour would never ever be put to the test.

chevalierdupapillon

Nearly 300 years old and it looks practically brand new. Absolutely incredible

leftyfourguns

The craftsmanship is INSANE. I literally don’t think people in this modern world can recreate this authentically without machines

Daniellehaunani

This is my favorite thing that happens on YouTube. Art history, conservation, and ASMR are a match made in heaven. Thank you so so so so much for the effort you put into these beautiful videos.

marge

Thanks for making this. I hope you know how impactful it is to get such a close up view of this particular piece

sixgilled

Unbelievably complicated, astonishing how sophisticated and ingenious the Japanese warriors were. Imagine how much time and how many assistants were required to get ready for battle. Very enjoyable and informative,

rikkiharcourt

I love seeing the care taken in the deconstruction. There's clearly an appropriate reverence for this object on behalf of the team.

tummy_fritters

It’s always interesting to me to see just how careful the curators have to be with this old, delicate stuff

hannahpoland

Huh. I was wondering why it looked so dull because I saw it, heard the date, was puzzled & surprised it’s much newer than I thought. My aunt has just a couple pieces like the helmet and idk what but it was on the brighter side like they showed underneath it.

But my aunt instilled fear into me as a child from that thing because I think I began to reach to pick it up to look at it and she panicked. She began describing how fragile it is and it’s a miracle she even owns it. 20 years later and I wouldn’t dare sneeze in its vicinity let alone the same room! Closest I’ve been to it since then has been 3ft away 😂 AT LEAST. Guaranteed a meter away.

rachelkoiks

as a post grad student of east asian art history this was a treat! thank you for this✨👏

_de_reve

i wonder how long it would have taken to put all of this on ?

rowsdoweraud

I'd love to see the whole process, and see the parts laid out.

mikehutchinson

Was here a few weeks ago, 3 times over 2 weeks. Would have gone again if I had the time. IMHO the best museum in London.

westwindsailer

So beautiful! These are some of my favorite kinds of videos, Learning something while getting up close with really interesting items.

ValleyKnown

i wish we went back to wearing the most intricate and gorgeous clothing/armor . even if this was just used for presentation its cool to know that peope still wore this kind of stuff not that long ago

natabugge

When another episode of your favourite asmr drops 😍 it’s a good day

WhateverIsTrue

This is amazing! And I need to watch my DVDs from the movie "Shogun" again 😊

oOBubbleStreamOo

Way too short. More episodes coming?

TheDreamtimezzz

I imagine that it will take a lot longer to put it back together!!!

mariellouise

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