Myōchin Shikibu kadensho
A Japanese manuscript of 1753 by Myōchin Munesuke, a record of the Myōchin armour-making family's designs, apparently made for family or workshop use. The pages show ink line drawings of helmets and face masks, with pencil underdrawing and signatures and generation marks in brush calligraphy. A designer could take from them the bold, economical contour line and the sculptural silhouettes of armour, reduced to essential shapes.
