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

Find out more about the suit of armour in Explore the Collections: collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O231035/suit-of-armour-haruta-tamba/

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

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.

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

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

This is my favorite thing that happens on RU-vid. 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.

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

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,

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

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.

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

This series is so brilliant

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

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

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

Amazing... Great narration as well.

BEST ONE YET BY FAR… KEEP EM COMIN

Truly stunning

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

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.

Outstanding condition!

wow. So glad I found this channel.

THAT is MAGNIFICENT!!

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

Truly amazing!

Yes to all of this.

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

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

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

Wow!!

Awwwww. Way too short. More episodes coming?

I would love to know how much conservation, if any, would be done on the amour. It's obviously been exposed for a long period of time to light and the leather ties have aged. I think we'd all love an update at some point.

Genuine question... Given the intricacy of the knots, which appear to be an original feature rather than something added later to help keep it together as an artefact, why can't the armour be transported as a whole, i.e. why does it need to be taken apart and reconstructed at the other venue?

I wonder how long it’s been mounted since the people in the video are discovering how it was tied together

I keep thinking that this is the little dog from the film, "Labyrith".

金本小札赤糸毛引威胴丸鉄錆地塗烈勢面頬 二重𩊱/錣星兜大袖付 江戸時代中期 復古調の甲冑 This is the Japanese name for this piece of samurai armor...

The thumbnail looks like a goblin from Labyrinth.

For some reason knowing someone once wore this and could've died wearing it is so creepy.

Are all conservationist speak so quite when they work? Very interesting video.

Can you eat it? Not directly, but boiling in water and then using the broth...

In my opinion, tbis video was way too short. Shame there weren't more episodes.

What is the ivory colored ornamentation? Is it ivory, bone or something else? Portions of it almost appear to be human teeth.

So the Japanese invented parachord?

At first I thought it was a dog

I tried to relax but these ladies were talking too loud for too long. Haha!

😂😂😂😂solo importa cuando se amarra puesta en el cuerpo....para eso ya habia un protocolo con ayudntes y en solitario... En el marco de madera da lo mismo...cda familia lo hacía como quería... Gente exagerada....

Remarkable piece of workmanship . It's too bad that more information was not given as to makers, place of origin , etc. What a wasted opportunity. .

Not asmr

Incredibly dedicated, skilled and respectful people, who don't appear to know the first thing about Japanese armour. And haven't bothered to even learn the names of the various parts. Pity really.

Not really asmr

This is not ASMR

Clueless I'm afraid to say. The operation of removing the kabuto alone and the team's difficulty with the shinobi-no-o is ridiculous. I had to stop watching after the kinpaku on the nodowa is referred to as maki-e.

I see you allowed the ties and silks to fade what a shame, There has to be a better way to present the armor.

I wish the curator was speaking softer more quiet.