Tokyo museum discloses helmet, armor believed to be King Gojong’s

A helmet and armor which are believed to have been owned by King Gojong of the Joseon Dynasty have been disclosed to the public.

The National Museum of Tokyo in Japan introduced the armor and helmet at a special exhibition dubbed, “Art from the Joseon Dynasty” on Tuesday. The museum made public the relics with a notice suggesting that they are from Joseon in the 19th century without clarifying that they were royal artifacts, and that they are donations from the “Okura Collection (a collection created from Korean cultural heritages looted by Takenosuke Ogura, a Japanese merchant during Japan’s colonial rule of Korea).” After Ogura’s death, his son donated 1,040 pieces of cultural relics to the National Museum of Tokyo in 1982.

“Considering that the forehead section of the helmet is made of white jade, and it has inscription of a dragon with five-claws, the helmet is apparently an item that was used by a king,” said the Rev. Hyemoon, the head of the Korean cultural heritage repatriation initiative. “When considering the degree of aging, it was an item used by King Gojong.”

The exhibition also showcased royal costumes including official uniform (called “dongdari” in original Korean term), ikseongwan (crown worn by the king when engaging in administration of state affairs), and a small board dubbed “Punghyeol-ban.” “Ogura once clarified that Dongdari and Ikseokgwan were both items used by King Gojong,” Hyemoon said.

Lee So-ryeong, a director at Goryeo Museum in Japan, which is staging a campaign to repatriate Korean cultural heritages overseas to Korea, said, “Punghyeol-ban was an item that the assassin of Empress Myeongseong (King Gojong’s wife) took away from her room, after assassinating her.”