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Yoshitoku Samurai Vader Scaled Full Armor and Helmet Set
Please note: all sales for this product are final unless delivered product is damaged. We are now accepting special orders online - final delivery of the helmet set could take up to 4.5 months as these are hand-made and imported directly from Japan.The signature look of the Star Wars movies has always owed a great debt to the past: the Rebel starships loosely resemble World War II aircraft, or at least "feel" like they do; the blasters are based on actual mid-20th century pistols and machine guns; and the costumes are evocative of several classical styles, including the Nazi-esque uniforms of the Imperial officers and semblance of the Samurai in the costume of Darth Vader. Japan's Yoshitoku Company recently reversed the life-to-art rule by incorporating some of the Dark Lord's costume features back into the traditional design that helped inspire it. This year, Yoshitoku will be offering a "Samurai Vader" quarter-scale costume to Japanese fans celebrating Tango no Sekku, or Japan's "Boy's Day" festival on May 5. One tradition of Tango no Sekku includes the displaying of the Samurai yoroi (armor) and kabuto (helmet) by a boy's family in the hopes that it will protect his spirit and ensure good health and prosperity. The yoroi and kabuto, while reduced in scale, require the same level of skill and attention to detail in their manufacture that the original full-size costumes once demanded. This centuries-old craftsmanship has been kept alive in the Yoshitoku Company for the last 300 years, providing the traditional Samurai accoutrements to families celebrating Japan's sons every year (Girl's Day, or Hinamatsuri, occurs on March 3, and includes the display of dolls dressed in traditional female costumes). Opening its doors in 1711 as a shop selling toys and dolls in what is now Tokyo, Yoshitoku turned exclusively to doll manufacture after the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. They now enjoy the admiration of the Imperial Household Agency for the imperial family, and even hosted a tutorial on Japanese doll manufacturing for Princess Diana while on a trip to Japan. According to Yoshitoku, this is the first time in their history that a crossover product such as the Samurai Vader has been produced. "It was challenging for us to blend the entertainment character with our traditional products," a spokesman for the company says. "However, we thought it worth doing when Star Wars marked its 30th anniversary." While the blending of Darth Vader with the Samurai look appears seamless in the final design, the process of reconciling the similar but separate looks took some doing. "Since the Vader helmet itself was originally designed in the motif of a Samurai's kabuto, it was not difficult to find the similarity. However, it took time for us to consider what to add to the costumes in order to blend the sense of Star Wars with the style of traditional Japanese weapons. Also, we had
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