O-yoroi
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The O-Yoroi (also called yoroi) is a prominent example Japanese armor. The term ō-yoroi means "great armor."[1] For the most part the O-Yoroi was a rich mans armor and not used by lower ranking samurai. O-Yoroi first started to appear in the 10th century during the middle and late Heian period, and came into widespread use in the Gempei Wars around the 12th centuries when the call for armor was at its peak. Significant aspects of this armor were designed for cavalry archers, so the armor fell out of favor in the fifteenth century when samurai shifted to mostly infantry tactics.[2]
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[edit] Construction
The O-Yoroi combines plate and lamellar elements. One specific advance over earlier armors is that the lamellae of o-yoroi are first laced together and then covered with lacquer, which enhances resistance to corrosion.[3] The cuirass, (called a dō), consisted of two parts. One (the waidate) was a separate defense for the right side and the other part covered the rest of the wearer's trunk. The upper part of the waidate was solid plate iron covered with leather. The lower part was laminated. When dressing for battle, the waidate was put on before the rest of the cuirass and fastened with cords that tied around the body. The rest of the cuirass was also iron plate covered with leather on top with laminated segments below. Various supplementary pieces included rectangular lamellae shoulder guards (ō-sode) and a fabric and plate sleeve (kote) for the left arm. Greaves (suneate) made from lacquered iron protected the shins and joined over fabric leggings (habaki). Specialized archery gloves were made from deerskin and boots were made of bearskin or sealskin.[4]
During the life of O-Yoroi their metal of choice was iron. Due to the weight of iron, armoires limited the use of iron to the most vital parts of the armor and used the leather for the remainder. Another workaround used was the alternating of one metal plate then a leather plate making a very strong armor with great flexibility with a usable weight. Overall the standard suit of armor was about 30kg or 65 pounds. It was a big boxy armor that was for the most part inflexible and not form fitting. The boxy shape hindered the samurai from using the sword with the free, fluid motion vital in hand to hand combat.
[edit] Notes
[edit] Bibliography
- Mondadore, Arnoldo, ed. ‘’The Complete Encyclopedia of Arms & Weapons’’, (New York:Simon & Schuster, 1979).
[edit] External links
- SengokuDaimyo.com The website of Samurai Author and Historian Anthony J. Bryant Contains online armor manual. The author studied in Japan with families famous for production of armor.
- Illustrated example of O-yoroi armor
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