, is the generic name for the Japanese

saddle The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not kno ...

. The word "kura" is most commonly associated with the saddle used by the

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They ...

class of

feudal Japan The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new inven ...

. Over time the Japanese added elements of their own until the Japanese saddle became an identifiable style, also known as the samurai saddle.

History and description

The Japanese were known to be using the Chinese style of saddle during the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the c ...

(AD 710 to 794), but during the

Heian The Japanese word Heian (平安, lit. "peace") may refer to: * Heian period, an era of Japanese history * Heian-kyō, the Heian-period capital of Japan that has become the present-day city of Kyoto * Heian series, a group of karate kata (forms) * ...

(794 to 1185), changes made to the Chinese saddle led to what we now call the ''kura'' or Japanese saddle. The Chinese style saddle is known as ''karagura'' while the Japanese style is known as ''yamatogura''. In the fourth century AD, the Japanese started using

horses in warfare The first evidence of horses in warfare dates from Eurasia between 4000 and 3000 BC. A Sumerian illustration of warfare from 2500 BC depicts some type of equine pulling wagons. By 1600 BC, improved harness and chariot desig ...

.Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). "Horses" in citing the ''Kojiki'' and ''Nihon shoki.''

Cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry in ...

proved to be decisive in the Jinshin War of 672–73, in

Fujiwara no Hirotsugu Fujiwara (, written: 藤原 lit. "''Wisteria'' field") is a Japanese surname. (In English conversation it is likely to be rendered as .) Notable people with the surname include: ; Families * The Fujiwara clan and its members ** Fujiwara no Kamata ...

's rebellion in 740 and in the revolt of Fujiwara no Nakamaro in 756. Samurai warriors increasingly used horses, and rode two types of kura: the ''suikangura'' or "aristocratic saddle", and the ''gunjingura'', or war saddle. The main weapon of early samurai warfare was the

yumi is the Japanese term for a bow. As used in English, refers more specifically to traditional Japanese asymmetrical bows, and includes the longer and the shorter used in the practice of and , or Japanese archery. The was an important wea ...

(bow) and the kura provided a rugged, stable, comfortable platform for shooting arrows. However, the design was not well suited for speed or distance. The introduction of firearms in Japan in 1543 eventually led to the development of the Japanese

matchlock A matchlock or firelock is a historical type of firearm wherein the gunpowder is ignited by a burning piece of rope that is touched to the gunpowder by a mechanism that the musketeer activates by pulling a lever or trigger with his finger. Befor ...

(''tanegashima'') which supplanted the yumi as the weapon of choice by the samurai. As a result, horse-mounted samurai were no longer the main military force. During the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

(1603 to 1868) horses were no longer needed for warfare and the samurai started using highly decorated kura with colored lacquers, and extensive intricate inlays and leather work. Mounted samurai became a ceremonial presence in the entourages of processions by their ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominall ...

'' (feudal lord).''Handbook to life in medieval and early modern Japan'', William E. Deal, Oxford University Press US, 2007 P.155
/ref> Riding in a saddle was reserved for the samurai class until the end of the samurai era in 1868. Lower classes would ride on a pack saddle (''ni-gura or konida-gura'') or bareback. Pack horses (''ni-uma or konida-uma'') carried a variety of merchandise and the baggage of travelers using a pack saddle that ranged from a basic wooden frame to the elaborate pack saddles used for the semi-annual processions ('' sankin-kōtai'') of ''daimyōs''. Pack horses also carried the equipment and food for samurai warriors during military campaigns. With the end of the samurai era and beginning of the Meiji period (1868–1912), non-samurai were allowed to openly ride horses and eventually the Japanese adopted saddles of styles seen in the occidental world. Saddles used by Japanese officers during the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

(1904–1905) are described as being based on civilian

English saddle English saddles are used to ride horses in English riding disciplines throughout the world. The discipline is not limited to England, the United Kingdom in general or other English-speaking countries. This style of saddle is used in all of the ...

Kura-no-baju (Japanese saddle and related parts)

Types of kura

Yamato gura (Japanese style kura)

File:Antique Japanese (samurai) kura (saddle).jpg, File:Kura Japanese saddle.jpg, File:Kura 5.JPG

Kara gura (Chinese style kura)

File:Tamukeyama Jinsha Karakura (Chinese Saddle) (479).jpg File:Antique Japanese saddle in the Chinese style (kara gura).jpg

Ni-gura or konida-gura (Kura for pack horses (ni-uma or konida-uma))

File:Kura (saddle) for daimyo gyoretsu or sankin kotai.JPG, File:Load saddle.JPG File:Kura and kutsuwa.JPG

Kurabane

Kurabane is the wooden tree of the Japanese saddle which was made from red oak (kashi), the parts are connected to each other by joints and cords allowing the kurabane to flex, it has four parts, the ''maewa'' (pommel) the arched front plate, the ''shizuwa'' (cantle) the arched rear plate, these are connected by two ''igi'' (contoured side bands) which connect the ''maewa'' to the ''shizuwa'', the ''igi'' rest on either side of the horse's spine and serve as the under frame for the leather seat (''basen'' or ''kura tsubo''), the ''igi'' are slotted for the stirrup straps (chikara-gawa or gekiso) to pass through.''Art of Armor: Samurai Armor from the Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Collection''
Authors L. John Anderson, Sachiko Hori, Morihiro Ogawa, John Stevenson, Stephen Turnbull, Publisher Yale University Press, 2011, , P.81 File:MAP Expo Kura Aogai 06 01 2012.jpg, File:Kura 4.JPG, File:Antique_Japanese_(samurai)_Kurabane_(Japanese_saddle_tree).jpg File:Kura 1.JPG File:Maewa (pommel), the front arch of a Japanese saddle (kura).jpg, Maewa (pommel), the front arch of a Japanese saddle. File:Shizuwa (cantle), the back arch of a Japanese saddle (kura).jpg, Shizuwa (cantle), the back arch of a Japanese saddle. File:Igi (contoured side bands) of a Japanese saddle).jpg, Igi (contoured side bands) of a Japanese saddle, showing the slot for the stirrup strap (''Chikara-gawa or gekiso'')

Basin or kura tsubo

The basin/kura tsubo (the thin leather saddle seat), has slots on either side for the stirrup straps (''Chikara-gawa or gekiso'') to pass through. File:Kura saddle pad.JPG, File:Kura tsubo or basen (saddle seat).jpg File:Kura tsubo or basen (Japanese saddle pad).JPG

Aori

Aori (saddle flaps), a pair of large leather pieces that would hang from either side of the saddle (kura) and protect the sides of the horse from the abumi (stirrups) and from the branches of trees and shrubs. File:Antique Japanese (samurai) aori (saddle flap).jpg, File:Aori (saddle flaps).jpg File:Antique Japanese (samurai) aori (saddle flap) 1.jpg File:Aori (saddle flaps) 2.jpg

Shita-kura or hadazuke

Shita-kura or hadazuke, the twin set of double leather pads attached to the bottom of a Japanese saddle tree (kurabane). The ''shita-kura (hadazuke)'' protects the back of the horse from the kurabane. File:Shita-kura or hadazuke.JPG, File:Shita-kura or hadazuke (double saddle pad).jpg File:Shita-kura (hadazuke) 2.jpg

Abumi

Abumi (stirrups), the abumi are attached to the saddle (kura) by a pair of leather stirrup straps (''chikara-gawa or gekiso''). File:Abumi 1.JPG, File:Abumi.JPG File:Antique Japanese (samurai) abumi (stirrups) 1.jpg

Chikara-gawa or gekiso

Chikara-gawa or gekiso (stirrup straps), leather straps that the stirrups (abumi) are attached to, they pass through slots on the saddle seat (basin or kura tsubo). File:Chikara-gawa or gekiso (stirrup strap).jpg, File:Chikara-gawa or gekiso (stirrup strap).JPG File:Chikara-gawa or gekiso (Japanese stirrup strap) 1.JPG

Shiode

Shiode, tie-downs attached to the kura (saddle) at four points. Various ropes and straps are attached to the shiode. File:Shiode or Shiho-de hold down.jpg File:Japanese saddle dated 1630, lacquer, wood, silk lead and suede, HAA.JPG File:Shiode or Shiho-de.jpg

Uma agemaki

Uma agemaki, decorative tassels that are attached to a Japanese saddle (kura), other equipment may be attached to the uma agemaki. File:Uma agemaki 1.JPG File:Uma agemaki.jpg

Bakin

Bakin, a padded cover that sits behind the kura (saddle) and covers the ''shirigai'' (crupper). File:Bakin (crupper cover).jpg File:Antique_Japanese_bakin_(crupper_cover).jpg

Shirigai

Shirigai, a type of ''

crupper A crupper (; occ. spelled crouper) is a piece of tack used on horses and other equids to keep a saddle, harness or other equipment from sliding forward. Construction The crupper consists of a loop (the crupper itself) and an adjustable strap (cr ...

'' which connected to the kura (saddle) on one end and looped under the horse's tail on the other to keep the saddle from slipping forward. File:Shirigai (crupper).JPG

Kutsuwa (bit)

File:Antique_Japanese_(samurai)_horse_bit_(kutsuwa).JPG File:Antique Japanese (samurai) horse .bit (kutsuwa).jpg File:Antique Japanese bit (kutsuwa) pack horse type.jpg

Kiritsuke (saddle blanket)

File:Kiritsuke (Japanese saddle blanket).JPG

Sanjakugawa

Sanjakugawa, two leather straps that wrapped around each side of the neck, attached to the bridle and the bit. The sanjakugawa prevented the bridle from slipping over the ears. Sanjakugawa.JPG

Muchi (whip)

File:Muchi.jpg, Antique Japanese horse whip.

Munagai (breast strap)

Omogai (bridle)

Tazuna (reins)

Obukuro (tail cover)

References

External links

Visual glossary of Japanese saddle related parts
{{Horse equipment, state=collapsed Samurai weapons and equipment Saddles