Darth Masamune

Japan is in the midst of a total "Sengoku Boom" right now, fueled in large part by NHK's "ikemen"-inflected historical drama Techijin. This means that nearly anything about the Era of Warring States (as it's called in English) is fair game for the ubiquitous celebrity panel trivia shows that seem to comprise the majority of Japanese primetime television programming.

To wit: there was an interesting piece on one such show last night claiming that Darth Vader's helmet was specifically inspired by that of Sengoku-era warlord Date Masamune. They do bear a striking resemblance, and the City of Sendai (Date's domain in the early 17th century) argues the case as well. Something to chew on next time you listen to Masato Shimon's legendary Japanese version of the theme song.

Date also seems to have spawned his share of anime heroes, chief among them Zanbot 3, who sports a similarly crescent-crowned helm. Incidentally, know the reason for the asymmetrical shape? It's more than just a visual design element. The shorter right half allows the (presumably right-handed) wearer to swing his sword arm without interference.

Comments

[Kyle McLain]

I could have sworn that George Lucas once said in an interview that the inspiration for Vadar's helmet came from one of the bandits in Seven Samurai.

[MattAlt]

It well could have, but the inspiration for the actual visual design appears to link back to Date's suit of armor.

I only wish they'd given Darth something more akin to Mifune's two-cheeks-to-the-breeze, "only armored on the top" look from SS:

http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/17/17_images/samuraimifune.jpg
http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/17/17_images/10_samurai.jpg

[TakeSake]

This came out a few years ago:
http://www.yoshitoku.co.jp/starwars.html

[MattAlt]

Now that's called bringing things full circle!

[Biker Jackets]

There are some instances where it seems that a primal chord is struck within us. Lucas may have seen images of Date's armor and stored it in his sub-concious.