Hello, I think this is an early Japanese armor set and I hope someone here can help me learn more about it. I got this from an elderly man, all he knew was it is a Samurai Armor. Any info will help. It looks to be complete and in good conditon considering the age. It is matt black with a gold star on the chest, gold horns on the helmet, and red Japanese characters on the inside of the armor. It has three pieces, a helmet, face piece, and body armor. Some of the lacing is missing and replaced by fishing line and there are four replacement rivets. Again, Age, family crest, translation, rank, value, anything will help. Best regards, Ron.

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Your armor appears to be bits and pieces from several suits of armor. None of it would be considered high end Japanese armor. What you have was likely worn by a low ranking samurai. The age appears to be 19th century. The menpo(face armor)are both missing the nose. Unfortunately, the condition is not the best. All of it appears to be a total restoration project. I hope this helps.
Bob

Bob, thanks for the information. It helps me allot. Regards, Ron.

Ron,Get more than one opinion on what you have.Any original armour has got to be some what rare.How often does one see it at all?

Ron-
Please feel free to sollicit other opinions. However, I have been a serious collector and student of Japanese swords and armor for over 25 years. I was a member of the Board of Directors of the Japanese Sword Society of the United States for over twenty years, serving as the President for eight years. I have also lived and studied this field in Japan.
Many suits of armor were sold to Western tourists in the late 19th century. At that time, the samurai had been abolished as a class and the armor served as little to no value except as a curio for the foreign tourist. Other sets were sold to occupation forces in the late 40's and 50's. One of the major problems with this armor would be the restoration costs. Relacing armor and lacquer repair are crafts preformed by few competent artisans. It is quite expensive. The cost would far exceed the value of these pieces. One would be better served to buy a better quality complete set that did not require the amount of work this set does.
Bob