Rokugu – Six Articles of Arms

Major parts of the Japanese armor…

DOU: The main body of the armor, this is a panel of lamellar boards laced together with silk
and leather cords.
WAIDATE: This piece, which can be considered another part of the dou but was typically
secured prior to wearing it, is designed to protect the wearer’s right side. The upper part
consists of a leather-covered iron plate with a lamellar bottom part.
TSURUBASHIRI: This leather panel, which covers the front of the torso plate, is meant to
prevent the bowstrings from snagging on the scales of the armor. This part is frequently
decorated with beautiful patterns.
KUSAZURI: This is the plate skirt that protects the lower part of the body as well as the
upper leg. It is laced together to the upper plates. For the armor made during the Heian and
Kamakura periods, the skirt was made with both leather and iron. However, post-Muromachi
Period armor saw a shift mainly to iron, with some being made from roasted leather.
SODE: Made from the same basic materials as the Kusazuri, These two shoulder plates are
attached to the Dou with Watagami (shoulder straps, some made from leather before the
Muromachi period and iron after that).
Not surprisingly, some samurai armor parts were actually crafted together. During the late
16th century, the co-designed Sode and Kusazuri formed a matching set with the same
patterns.
KOTE: These are arm-length glove sleeves reaching clear to the shoulder. They are typically
created from cloth such as silk brocade, covered with metal plates, and connected with Kusari
(chainmail). Another type of protection is the Han Kote (Kote Gauntlet) which only covers
the forearms. Early samurai would only use Kote on the left arm, which gave the right one
freedom for archery; in the late 1100s, matching sleeves began to appear.
SUNEATE: These shin guards, vertical plates which first appeared during the 12th century,
are connected by either hinges or Kusari chainmail. They are tied to the calf via cloth straps
which are also attached to a cloth backing. The shin guards, which may actually be all
chainmail in certain instances, are composed primarily of iron or leather.
Like the aforementioned Yoroi parts, the Kote and Suneate were also crafted together as a
matching set.
HAIDATE: These are the thigh guards. They are a late addition to Japanese armor, not
making their appearance until the 13th Century. They were made with a mixture of textile
material and metal, attached to the cloth and held together by chainmail. Despite the fact that
the Haidate can be seen in most suits of samurai armor, it is believed that they were not
actually used very frequently due to being uncomfortable and cumbersome.
The AGEMAKI bow, a cord suspended from a ring on the upper plate, can be found at the
rear of the armor. This bow, which was originally designed to keep all the parts of the armor
together, became merely decorative in later years.
The KABUTO and MENGU, the helmet and face mask respectively, will be covered
extensively in future articles.