This item, from the Messengers of Hope Collection, is a suneate or armored shinguard. It is one of the many elaborate pieces of armor worn by the Japanese samurai. It consists of seven long thin iron splints attached to a cloth backing. There are four cloth straps to secure the suneate to the shin, as well as a reinforced pad at the top to protect the knee.;The Messengers of Hope were an organization of Hope College alumni that existed formally from about 1907-1915. They had a relatively small membership of 25-50 individuals, who traveled around the world doing missionary work. Messengers of Hope worked in Asia, India, Africa, and the Middle East. One notable member of the group was Dr. John Otte who worked as a doctor and missionary in China for several years, eventually dieing there in 1910. Many of Otte's writings about his experiences are preserved at the Joint Archives of Holland, in Holland Michigan. The missionaries regularly collected items from the communities in which they worked, and sent them back to Hope College for a museum intended to inspire others to take up missionary work. Messengers of Hope known to have worked in Japan who may have collected this object include Rev. Van Bronkhorst, Walvoord, Van Lopik, and Laug. Over the years the small museum was moved around campus and many items were lost or borrowed and never returned. The Grand Rapids Public Museum has collected a small representative sample of these items, in order to tell the story of the Messengers of Hope.;This group of items was part of a small museum at Hope College in the early twentieth century. The items were collected by the Messengers of Hope, a group of Hope alumni engaged in missionary work all over the world. As part of their organization's mission the Messengers of Hope collected items from the various cultures they worked with and sent them back to the college in the hope of inspiring future generations of missionaries.;The suneate are a part of the elaborate armor of the samurai. They are meant to protect the wearers shins. This particular suneate probably may date to the Edo Period (1603-1868), but it was probably acquired by a missionary in the early twentieth century.
