Armor (Dō-maru) armor, ca. 1550; helmet, 18th century Japanese The sixteenth century marks a period in Japanese history that was disrupted by political upheaval, warlordism, and nearly constant military conflicts, bringing along significant changes in armor and in the way battles were fought. In previous periods, higher ranking Samurai mainly fought on horseback and wore a type of armor optizimed for this use: the heavy box shaped Ō-yoroi. In the turbulent sixteenth century, however, even warlords had to be prepared to fight on foot and thus favored so lighter, closer fitting armors like this Dō-maru (lit. body wrap”) shown here, which allowed a much greater freedom of movement than the Ō-yoroi.One such warlord was Date Masamune (1567-1636), who was known for having a particular interest in armor. As a consequence, he often rewarded his retainers not with swords, as it was common at that time, but with armor. In 1594, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the then most powerful man in Japan to whom Dat