Signature: Kaei 6 - Ushidoshi Oshu Nihonmatsu-ju Myōchin Ki (no) Muneaki saku
Made in 1853 by Myōchin Ki Muneaki in Nihonmatsu castle.
The helmet is a 24-plate suji kabuto with five rows of visible rivets. The shape is rather tall (koseizan), and the fittings, such as the visor (mabezashi) and the maedate holder (haraidate), are beautifully crafted. The five-plate shikoro bears on the fukigaeshi a rare kamon (family crest) made of silver maki-e lacquer, depicting the butterfly (hachō) used by the Taira clan in the ancient times and later taken up by a number of families claiming descent from it, most notably the Matsudaira clan, the shogunate family.
The half-moon shaped maedate shows the “ichi” kanji in the center.
The mask is of the ressei type, of excellent workmanship. The shapes of the nose, ears and chin are those typical of the branch operating in the Ki region, where the Myōchin family of armorers settled in the early Edo period and specialised in embossed metalwork (uchidashi).
The inscription is definitely interesting, as it places the helmet inside Nihonmatsu Castle, which was besieged during the Battle of Aizu in 1868, in which Matsudaira Katamori and the forces for imperial restoration clashed. During the siege, 543 samurai loyal to the shogunate died under the modern weapons used by the imperialist daimyo, trained and equipped by Western armies. The presence of the butterfly kamon, used by the Matsudaira, would confirm the use of the helmet by samurai loyal to the shogunate. The armor associated with these events has almost all been lost or destroyed, and to find a helmet in perfect condition that survived the last Japanese civil battles is undoubtedly an extraordinary event.
"Looking to accessorize, bud? Maybe some upgrades? I gotcha covered." The higashan merchant pulls out several baubles from her case. Pins. Collectibles. Fake horns. Some masks. "Guaranteed authentic Higashan designs! All the way from home and I'm pretty sure it's ethically sourced to boot. Unlike that Kazimierzan junk. So whattya think?"
Sakuya waits patiently for feedback, characteristic glint in her eye.
@dcviated KISAMA ARE NOT SCAMMING THIS SAMURAI WARRIOR DE GOZARU
"E-Eh? Ehhh? EHHHH?!" Multiple exaggerated gasps came out of the menpo-cladded foreign warrior. "Oi, oi! Anta no think I'm some kind of fucking ahoyarou desu ka, nee-chan? "
Yeeeeahhhh, no. He is quite aware of being SCAMMED by surprise knick-knack vendors out in the wild. Don't bullshit a bullshitter, kiddo! Like she said, Kazimierzan junk, what are the chances she's one of those too, huh? Fuck outta here with your fake-ass miko outfit, kono gaki-
HORRRRRRRY SHIT!
"YO, WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!" Points to the sheathed tanto knife that was lumped alongside with the assortment of legitimate(???) horns and masks! WOAH!
" HOW MUCH IS THAT, QUIT PLAYIN' WITH ME! THAT'S THE MOST SUBARASHII HIGASHAN KNIFE I'VE EVER SEEN! "
Is the mask Error wears a youkai mask or is it based on a kitsune menpo mask ?¿
Errors mask is definitely more akin to a kitsune menpo mask. But like a helmet. This is the original inspo pic for it.
The original concept art was super close to it though I really didn’t like it a whole bunch. Looking back it was because of the coloring. It was all wrong.
So when it came time to revise the look this is what came out.
It was ok but not great. Really didn’t like it but it was much closer than the original. So a little bit of revision later we have these two
The mask is more of a helmet, it does cover his whole head. Very close to the kitsune mask, kinda a nod at another character design from ivory which had Ink with a kitsune mask. I think the fit now is much better than the original concept, but they can’t all be winners like Blue and Ink’s were.
A little bit of a long winded answer but I could literally go for hours talking about character design.