Glossary of Samurai Armour

A suit of Japanese armour, yoroi or gusoku, is made of many separate parts, each with its own name. Most armours seen today date from the Edo period, when they were made for ceremony and display as much as for war. This glossary explains the vocabulary.

The helmet

  • Kabuto. The helmet as a whole.
  • Hachi. The helmet bowl, often built from riveted plates.
  • Suji-bachi and hoshi-bachi. Bowls with raised ridges or with prominent rivet heads.
  • Shikoro. The flared neck guard hanging from the bowl.
  • Fukigaeshi. The turned back wings at either side of the helmet.
  • Maedate. The crest worn at the front, from horns to family emblems.
  • Kawari kabuto. A helmet of unusual, sculptural form.

The face mask

  • Menpō. A mask covering the face below the eyes, often with a moustache and fierce expression.
  • Sōmen. A full face mask.
  • Hanbō. A half mask covering the chin and jaw.
  • Yodare-kake. The throat guard hanging below the mask.

Body and limbs

  • Dō. The cuirass protecting the torso.
  • Kusazuri. The skirt of hanging plates below the cuirass.
  • Sode. Shoulder guards.
  • Kote. Armoured sleeves of mail and plates.
  • Haidate. Thigh guards.
  • Suneate. Shin guards.

Construction

  • Kozane. Small lamellae of iron or leather, laced together in rows.
  • Iyozane. Overlapping lamellae that make a stiffer row.
  • Odoshi. The silk or leather lacing that binds the rows, its colour often the defining feature of an armour.
  • Kebiki and sugake. Dense close lacing, and the sparser spaced lacing of later armours.

Types of armour

  • Ō-yoroi. The great box shaped armour of mounted archers in the early medieval period.
  • Dō-maru and haramaki. Wrap around armours made for fighting on foot.
  • Tōsei gusoku. Modern armour of the sixteenth century onwards, with solid plate cuirasses.
  • Okegawa-dō. A cuirass of horizontal riveted plates.

Collector notes

  • Many armours are assembled from parts of different dates, and a matched armour is rarer.
  • Signed helmet bowls and masks, especially by the Myōchin school, add interest.
  • The original armour box, gusoku bitsu, with a family crest is a desirable companion.

Related references

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