Menpō
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A menpō (面頬?) (or menbō) is a face mask on a Japanese samurai kabuto helmet. Menpo take many forms. They may be made from leather or metal, sometimes have a lacquered finish, and can include a variety of facial details such as mustaches.
It has been said that this kind of helmet provided an influence for the design of Darth Vader's armour in Star Wars, as can be seen in the picture on the right, which shows a Menpo highly reminiscent of Vader's helmet in the films. See Kabuto#Kabuto in the West.
