Horo (母衣) were a type of cloak or garment attached to the back of the armour worn by samurai on the battlefields of feudal Japan.
Horo were around 6 feet long and were made from several strips of cloth sewn together with fringe on the top and bottom edges. The cloth strips when sewn together and formed into a sort of bag which would fill with air like a ballon when the wearer was riding a horse.[1] A light framework of wicker, bamboo or whale bone known as an oikago, which is said to have been invented by Hate Kayama Masanaga during the Onin War (1467–1477),[2] was sometimes used to keep the horo expanded. Attaching the horo generally involved a combination of fastening cords and possibly a staff. The top cords were attached to either the helmet (kabuto) or chest armor (dou (dō)) of the wearer while the bottom cords were attached to the waist.[3] The family crest of the wearer was marked on the horo.[4]
Horo were used as far back as the Kamakura period 1185–1333.[5] When inflated the horo was said to protect the wearer from arrows shot from the side and from behind.[6][7][8] Wearing a horo is also said to have marked the wearer of the horo as a messenger tsukai-ban or person of importance.[9] According to the Hosokawa Yusai Oboegaki (The Diary of Hosokawa Yusai)1534-1610) the taking of an elite horo wearing tsukai-ban messengers head was a worthy prize. "When taking the head of a horo warrior wrap it in the silk of the horo. In the case of an ordinary warrior, wrap it in the silk of the sashimono".[10]