Samurai Armor, Japanese Armor, Samurai Helmets, Old Suit of Japanese Samurai Armor.
Hello. My name is James R Miller and I collect, and sell, Japanese Samurai Armor and Japanese Samurai Swords. I have been doing this for over 38 years now. Since I hope to retire soon, I am selling a number of items from my collection, as well as the inventory of Gallery Samurai, which I own in Tokyo Japan. We also offer many fine items of Samurai Armour and Works of Art - since I get so many enquiries, I have arranged with other dealers and collectors to occasionally offer items of theirs in addition to my own; and besides old, genuine, authentic suits of armor I also sell Japanese Matchlock Guns, Japanese Tsuba, Japanese Gold Inro, Japanese Gold Lacquer Boxes (Suzuribako), Japanese Buddhist Paintings, Japanese Buddhist Statues, Daimyo Tachi - actually, I think I have the largest and most varied collection of Japanese Works of Art offered anywhere. For example, I have bought and sold over 10,000 Japanese Samurai Swords in my career: no one else can say this. I know, since I kept a record and you can still see the old inventory numbers on the Samurai Swords I am showing online. Ten thousand swords would fill a very large living room to the ceiling. And to buy these, I have to find, view, and hold in my hands well over 100,000 antique Japanese Samurai Swords. From the age of 22 to the age of 28, I sold, wholesale, from the least expensive to the most expensive, to every major dealer in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe, about 100 Samurai Swords, during my trips every other month, signed and unsigned, Heian to early Showa Samurai Swords. I have over 3,000,000 airplane miles on NWA airline company alone! So you can see why I am ready in a few years to completely retire!
I would also like to point out that I mostly offered the best of each of these areas of Japanese Art such as Swords, Tsuba (sword guards), Inro, Paintings, Armor: prices range from USD $1,000 to $100,000, depending on the "category". Because I like Japanese Art and Samurai Armor so much, I try to have suits of armor available at all price levels, but to tell the truth it is simply not possible to buy full Edo suits for just a few thousand dollars (as I have reported before on the Internet), since so much is involved, and the cost to us starts at several thousand dollars, even for the most basic suit of armor.
As for the high end, which is of course my speciality, as you can see from my many other sites, there is, as with Samurai Swords, no limit ------ but there is very limited availability!! The absolute best Samurai Armor are few and far between, and hard to come by: but if you tell me what you are looking for, I will ask around Japan's few Armor Society's limited circles and see what I can find for you. I am referring to the Finest Suits of Samurai Armor and Samurai Helmets at the near Juyo level for $30,000 and up. I also offer Museum Level Japanese Samurai Swords - these also are priced at $10,000 to $100,000 and more. I would like to offer to everyone to use my expertise, acquired after 38 years of non-stop Samurai Armor and Samurai Sword collecting and selling, to use my knowledge and sites to see a number of items and then to choose what best pleases you. NEVER buy any Samurai Armor because of its "history" or its appraisal paperwork - only buy it if you like it and you yourself can see quality, age, beauty, and desirability -- and you personally want it. Thank you for reading my introduction. James R Miller Summer, 2009
This site is still a work in progress - more images and prices to come.
Click here to see an incredible collection of 40 Samurai Helmets, $5,000 to $14,000 each