User:Samuraiantiqueworld/Japanese kusari armor

Japanese chain mail armor, also known as kusari gusoku, samurai chain mail armor, ninja armor, is different than traditional Japanese or samurai armor which uses chain mail in its construction but chain mail is not the majority of the defensive material used. Japanese chain mail armor consists primarily of chain mail sewn to cloth and is worn as a type of defensive clothing. Small amounts of armor plates can be attached to the chain mail armor in certain areas but the majority of the defensive material will be chain mail. Small square or rectangle iron or leather armor plates "karuta", long thin rectangular iron plates "shino" and or Hexagon armor plates "kikko" can be sewn to the fabric of chain "kusari" garments, the kikko can be exposed or hidden between layers of cloth. Kikko can be made from iron,or hardened leather and can be most often seen hidden in the collars of chain jackets "kusari katabira". Japanese chain mail armor comes in various forms of clothing or garments including, jackets, vests, gauntlets and gloves, hoods, thigh and shin guards ,and soxs. Kusari is the name for chain in Japanese and gusoku is the name for armor. "Kusari gusoku" is the Japanese name for a suit of chain mail armor with the individual pieces having their own names such as "kusari katabira" for chain mail jacket, "kusari zukin" for chain mail hood, "kusari tabi" for chain mail soxs, "kusari kote" for chain mail gloves, "kusari haidate" for chain mail thigh guards, "kusari suneate" for chain mail shin guards etc. The types of patterns most often used are called "namban-kusari" and "hitoye-kusari". Namban kusari means roughly "foreign maille" and is made in the European 4 in 1 style of ring connections. Hitoye kusari is the traditional Japanese 4 in 1 style of ring connections which predate European contact.

Ian Bottomley in his book "Arms and Armor of the Samurai: The History of Weaponry in Ancient Japan" shows a picture of a kusari armor and mentions kusari katabira ( chain jackets ) with detachable arms being worn by samurai police officials during the Edo period.

George Cameron Stone mentions Japanese kusari armor several times in his book "A Glossary of the Construction,Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in all countries and in all times" "Entire suits of mail (kusari gusoku) were worn on occasions, sometimes under the ordinary clothing"

Also See

 * Chainmail
 * Commons:Category:Japanese chain mail
 * Tatami-dō
 * Kikko
 * mail