is one of the major components of

Japanese armour Scholars agree that Japanese armour first appeared in the 4th century, with the discovery of the cuirass and basic helmets in graves. During the Heian period (794–1185), the unique Japanese samurai armour ''ō-yoroi'' and ''dō-maru'' appeared. ...

worn by the

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

and ashigaru or foot soldiers of

feudal Japan The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to the Paleolithic, around 38–39,000 years ago. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC whe ...

History

The predecessor of the dō was manufactured in Japan as early as the fourth century. ''Tankō'', worn by foot soldiers, and ''keikō'', worn by horsemen, were both pre-samurai types of early Japanese ''cuirass'' constructed from iron plates connected by leather thongs. During the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

(794 to 1185), the cuirass evolved into the more familiar style of armour worn by the samurai known as the ''dō''. Japanese armourers started to use hardened leather along with iron in their construction methods, and lacquer was used to weather-proof the parts. By the end of the Heian period the Japanese cuirass had arrived at the shape recognized as being distinctly samurai. Leather and or iron scales were used to construct samurai armours, with leather and eventually silk lace used to connect the individual scales (''kozane'') which these cuirasses were now being made from. In the 16th century Japan began trading with Europe during what would become known as the

Nanban trade or the was a period in the history of Japan from the arrival of Europeans in 1543 to the first ''Sakoku'' Seclusion Edicts of isolationism in 1614. is a Japanese word borrowed from Chinese ''Nanman'', which had been used to designate people fr ...

. Samurai acquired European

cuirass A cuirass ( ; ; ) is a piece of armour that covers the torso, formed of one or more pieces of metal or other rigid material. The term probably originates from the original material, leather, from the Old French word and the Latin word . The us ...

es which they modified and combined with domestic armour as it provided better protection from the newly introduced

matchlock A matchlock or firelock is a historical type of firearm wherein the gunpowder is ignited by a burning piece of flammable cord or twine that is in contact with the gunpowder through a mechanism that the musketeer activates by pulling a lever or Tri ...

s known as ''teppo'' or ''Tanegashima'' from the Portuguese trading Post in the town of the same name. The introduction of the ''Teppo'' in 1543 along with a change in battle tactics caused armourers to change the design of the dō from the centuries-old lamellar armour to

plate armour Plate armour is a historical type of personal body armour made from bronze, iron, or steel plates, culminating in the iconic suit of armour entirely encasing the wearer. Full plate steel armour developed in Europe during the Late Middle Ages, es ...

constructed from iron and steel plates. This type of armour was called ''tosei gusoku'' "new armour". Bullet resistant dō were developed, this type of armour was called ''tameshi gusoku'' "bullet tested", allowing Samurai to continue wearing their armour despite the increasing use of firearms. The warfare of the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

(15th and 16th centuries) required large quantities of armour to be produced for the ever-growing armies of foot soldiers ('' ashigaru''). Simple munition quality (''okashi'' or lent) dō were massed produced including ''tatami dō'' which could be folded. The victory of

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

at the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was an important battle in Japan which occurred on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, ...

in 1600, and his subsequent rise as ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

'' in 1603, marked the end of the

. By this time Samurai continued to use both plate and lamellar cuirasses as a symbol of their status, but traditional armours were no longer necessary. During the Edo period, lightweight and concealed armour became popular as there was still a need for personal protection. Civil strife, duels, assassinations, and peasant revolts required the use of ''tatami dō'' as well as ''kusari katabira'' (chain armour jackets) and armoured sleeves as well as other types of armour which could be worn under ordinary clothing.

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

samurai were in charge of internal security and would wear various types of ''kusari gusoku'' (chain armour) and shin and arm protection as well as forehead protectors ( ''hachi-gane''). Traditional armour continued to be worn and used in Japan until the end of the

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

in the 1860s, with the last widespread use in 1877 during the

Satsuma Rebellion The Satsuma Rebellion, also known as the , was a revolt of disaffected samurai against the new imperial government of the Empire of Japan, nine years into the Meiji era. Its name comes from the Satsuma Domain, which had been influential in ...

Types of dō

The type of dō that originally came with a matched suit of armour defined the name for that particular suit of armour, for example, a suit of armour that came with a would be called a ; a suit of armour that came with a would be called a .

Kozane dō

True are of

lamellar A lamella (: lamellae) is a small plate or flake, from the Latin, and may also refer to collections of fine sheets of material held adjacent to one another in a gill-shaped structure, often with fluid in between though sometimes simply a set of ...

construction using individual scales known as , they were used before the introduction of firearms in Japanese warfare. * , an early type of dō used by mounted samurai and constructed with . * , an early type of dō with no hinge that opened on the right side, constructed with . * , originally an early type of dō which opened in the back, constructed with , in later times "" was used to describe any dō that opened in the back. * , any dō constructed with . * , any dō constructed with .

Kozane dō gallery

File:Antique samurai O-Yoroi 1.jpg, , constructed with File:Hon iyozane maru dou front.jpg, File:Nerigawa hon kozane maru dou.jpg,

Types of kozane

* (true small individual scales) * (true large individual scales) File:Iyozane dou.JPG, File:Hon kozane dou.jpg, , showing the individual (scales) and the silk lace () File:Nerigawa hon kozane (close up).JPG, (hardened leather) (close up) File:Hon iyozane maru dou wakiita inside view.JPG, Inside view of a

Kiritsuke kozane dou (dō)

False in the form of ' or mimic the construction of lamellar armour but instead of being made from true individual scales are actually constructed with long lames (strips or rows) of armour lashed together and are a form of laminar armour.

Types of Kiritsuke kozane

* (false small scales) * (false large scales)

Kiritsuke kozane gallery

File:Kiritsuke iyozane dou (dō).JPG, Kiritsuke iyozane dō (false/simulated ) File:Kiritsuke hon kozane.JPG, Kiritsuke hon kozane (false/simulated ) File:MAP Expo Manche samourai 05 01 2012.jpg, (false/simulated )

Tosei dou (dō)

' ( meaning modern), were made from iron plates () instead of individual scales (). became prominent starting in the 1500s due to the advent of firearms, new fighting tactics, and the need for additional protection. * – (tub-sided), refers to the tub-like shape of the dou (dō). There are two types of : (horizontal lames), and (vertical lames). * – chest armours with rows of prominent cross knots, usually an (dō). * – chest armours with a running stitch that goes horizontally across the surface of the dou (dō). This stitch of lacing runs along the surface of the lame looking like a dotted line paralleling the top. * – meaning "step-changing", a combination of two or more styles. * – chest armor which is smooth and shows no signs of lames. * – embossed to resemble the emaciated torso of a starving monk or old man; named in resemblance of the Buddhist deities of the same name. * – embossed to resemble a half-naked torso. * – A five plate, four hinge () chest armor in the or style. * – (pigeon-breast chest armour or cuirass) were inspired by European peascod breastplate armour. (dō) have a sharp central ridge running vertically down the front. * – Embossed or hammered out relief on the front. * – Armour made on the base of late European armour * – five-plate, four hinge (go mai) chest armours with solid lames which are laced with instead of being riveted.

Tosei dou (dō) gallery

File:Hotoke dô or dou.JPG, Hotoke dou (dō) File:Okegawa ni mai dou.jpg, Yokohagi okegawa dou (dō) File:Go-mai sendai or yukinoshita dou.jpg, . A five plate, four hinge Japanese (samurai) chest armor in the sendai or style. File:NanbanDo.jpg, Nanban dou (dō)

Tatami dō

''Tatami dō'' (folding or foldable) were made from small square or rectangular armour plates (''karuta'') or hexagon armour plates (''kikko'') that were usually connected to each other by chain armour (''kusari'') and sewn to a cloth backing, ''tatami dō'' could also be made entirely from ''kusari''. Tatami dou (dō) were lightweight, portable, convenient for transportation, and were manufactured inexpensively and in great numbers for the ashigaru light infantry. ''Tatami dou (dō)'' were worn by all samurai classes from the highest class to the lowest class. The higher class samurai wore elaborate ''tatami dou (dō'')''The samurai: warriors of medieval Japan'', 940-1600, Anthony J. Bryant, Angus McBride, Osprey Publishing p.63
/ref> while the lower class samurai and retainers wore plainer, simpler designs

Types of tatami armour

* Karuta tatami dō,

karuta are Culture of Japan, Japanese playing cards. Playing cards were introduced to Japan by Portuguese traders during the mid-16th century. These early decks were used for trick-taking games. The earliest indigenous ''karuta'' was invented in the ...

, small square or rectangular iron or leather plates linked together by chainmail. * Kikko tatami dō, kikko, small hexagon iron or leather plates sewn to a cloth backing, the kikko armour can be connected to each other by chain armour (kusari) or by threads. * Kusari tatami dō, kusari, Japanese chainmail, consisting of links of iron formed in a wide variety of sizes and shapes, connected to each other in various patterns.

Tatami dou (dō) gallery

File:Karuta tatami dou 6.JPG, Karuta tatami dō File:Kusari dou 1.png, ''Kusari tatami dō'' (chain armor cuirass) File:Tetsu kikko tatami dou.jpg, Kikko tatami dō, small hexagon iron plates File:Karuta tatami dou 3.JPG, Karuta tatami dō. The karuta armor plates are laced to each other.

Tatami armour gallery

File:Karuta armor close up.JPG, Karuta armour plates File:Kusari examples.JPG, Kusari types File:Kikko wakibiki close up.JPG, Kikko armor

References

External links

Anthony Bryant's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Do (Armour) Samurai armour