The Last of the Samurais
Posted on Thursday 27 May 2004
"A soldier who wears the armor of the past appears in our era frightful but it is equally amazing that this costume is only complete with the addition of a fan! A respectable man does not meet with other gentlemen - let alone with an important official - without bringing with himself such a fan. With just a wave of this magic wand, the multitudes will bow down and bang their heads in humble submission!Photograph and text by Felice Beato (translation humbly attempted by Yours Truly). Hand-coloured albumen print, circa 1870.
"The mesh of the armour mesh is often of the finest execution. Some are constituted from innumerable steel chains sewn onto a jacket of leather, others from tiny sheets or scales of steel. The helmet comes in various shapes and under the slab that protects the chest is an inner protector formed from hundreds of sheets of paper, impenetrable to the blows and stabs of swords - such a simple invention that should make us reflect. The lance is a frightful weapon with a sharp tip and a cutting edge as keen as a razor."
