A Week in NYC - Travel Blog - Sunday

First thing Sunday morning, Jayne Shape-shifted to our Hotel (the arty Roger Smith) and the three of us went up to the MET (Museum) to spend the whole day. It was the last day of ART OF THE SAMURAI, so we started there. What an amazing exhibit. They didn't allow photography, so some of these images are from postcards, and others from the MET's permanent collection, which we were allowed to photograph.
Two things struck me about Japanese armour. One, the mix of materials for their function, aesthetics, weight, movement, is astonishing - Steel, silk, paper, leather, lacquer...
Two, the earliest examples seemed as much about becoming large insects or monsters and scaring your opponent as it was body protection.
I guess these are simple things, but as I think about a body of work I have been noodling for a few years "Viatica of the New Warriors", these epiphanies are handy.