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Samurai Armor (Matt)
Samurai Armor (Matt)
Armor was a vital part of samurai success, not only did it protect the Warrior Class, it also provided a sense of style that the samurai fought in for hundreds of years. Samurai's sense of style and material of armor lead to their opponents fearing them, as "a fully dressed and armed samurai was an impressive and intimidating sight." (Editors of Time-Life Books)
Growth of the samurai armor (Matt)
Growth of the samurai armor (Matt)
From the beginning of the samurai's reign until the end, the complexity and thoughtfulness of the armor changed, "as samurai warfare changed so did body armor" (Editors of Time-Life Books). The samurai armor needed a change when the Warrior Class of Japan started to fight more on foot and less from afar with a bow and arrow. After this change, samurai were now coming in contact with enemies who had long, short, and sharp blades, meaning the samurai needed some durable material to protect against these threats. Instead of wearing heavier and less detailed armor like before, they now needed to wear something lighter and stronger for drawing swords and fending off opponents. The creators of the newly equipped armor came up with designs, patterns, and materials suitable for the idea, many of these ideas derived from China as, "much of Japanese culture and technology derived from the Chinese" (Editors of Time-Life Books). The result of these inventions produced the iconic samurai armor that protected the protectors of Japan during some of its best years.
Samurai Style (Matt)
Samurai Style (Matt)
Most samurai installed additional designs on their armor. Samurai armor was decorated with patterns, metalwork, copper crests, and animal antlers. These various patterns and designs represented a samurai's place of origin, affiliations and, most importantly, their country, Japan.
Pieces of armor (Matt)
Pieces of armor (Matt)
Over the many years, Japanese armor vastly improved. The Japanese warriors went from riding horseback and shooting arrows to fighting on foot with multiple blades. As the use of weapons shifted so did the armor. The samurai armor consisted of a helmet known as kabuto, and a chest plate known as dō, attached to shoulder plates. The heaviest piece was the kabuto, protecting samurai from almost all attacks towards the head before guns were introduced to the country in 1543. Additionally, some samurai wore masks with patterns and illustrations known as mengu for a sense of style.
Mengu - https://kartaruga
Shoulder Plate - https://www.google.com
Dō (Chest plate) - https://www.shogunart.com
Kabuto (helmet) - https://upload.wikimedia.org
An image carousel of the following in order: (Matt)
Mengu
Shoulder Plates
Dō
Kabuto
Function of armor (Matt)
Function of armor (Matt)
Samurai armor was different from most medieval protection at the time. The Japanese samurai used shields, shoulder plates and other durable equipment for protection while fighting on foot. This was different then knights in Europe at the time, as the samurai armor was much lighter. Samurai armor was made up of, "horizontal rows of lacquered iron or leather, laced with braided silk cord[s]" (Editors of Time-Life Books) ,compared to the European knights' heavy metal armor. Samurai armor needed to be extra flexible so samurai could swiftly and effectively draw their swords and other various weapons while protecting Japan.
Comparing and Contrasting Medieval Knight's Armor and Japanese Samurai's armor (Matt)
Comparing and Contrasting Medieval Knight's Armor and Japanese Samurai's armor (Matt)
Material/Design and Function
Material/Design and Function
Armor for knights during medieval Europe was different in multiple aspects.
The armor knights wore in battle was mainly composed of heavy metals such as iron and steel, while only some of the samurai's armor was made of metal and the rest being leather. Samurai's lighter armor with the addition of leather material allowed for quicker movements with swords, which knights didn't rely on as much.
Knight's armor was designed to oppose heavy hits from weapons using gunpowder and hard-hitting axes. Compared to the samurai's armor which was made to withstand sharp blades, arrows, and spears.
Symbolic and Cultural Features
Symbolic and Cultural Features
Decoration on the armor was much more significant in Japanese culture than in European culture.
The decoration of knight's armor represented their social status and family, they had designs on their armor such as achievements and the code of chivalry. The Japanese samurai featured aspects like crests, simple decoration with no meaning, and clan symbols, in addition to aspects representing status and affiliation.
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