An invaluable resource of reference for artists. Thank you. This is excellent. I've got costume designs to do for an Artstation challenge set in the shogunate and I've been opening your video constantly to understand the layered anatomy of this style of armor.
Also I like how you explained the mobility issues as I think there are lots of misconceptions about Samurai armour. Some people don't even believe it is made from plate etc.
Great video review of Iron Mountain Armory (samurai-armor com) armor. There are so many different reasons and ways armor is made and worn. It really simply depends on the individual's fighting style and wanted comfort. AntiOtaku is correct, the silk obi is used for displaying your armor and ceremonial. The armory offers the sarashi option when ordering or it comes free with the Taisho class upgrade (along with wajri and tabi socks). You can also start with wrapping the sarashi by holding the center of it against your stomach and wrapping it around front to back. As you wrap it, add you wakizashi, then your katana (tanto too if you want on the right side or center), this way you can tighten it with your swords in-mount instead of sliding them through. You can also loop the fabric around the saya as you go to make them a little more secure. The reason why this area is left exposed is so you can duck, roll and get up very easily, which is much more difficult with European armor. The sarashi was also used to help protect your stomach area that wasn't covered in armor. It was also used for first aid sling, tourniquet and stretcher after the battle. The lacing over the left hinge isn't ornamental. The Iron Mountain Armory has a reason for everything they do! If you stack on a few pounds over the holidays or if you have a larger friend want to wear your armor, you can remove the pin and tie the armor shut on both sides, giving yourself some extra room to breath. You can actually expand the armor chest size by about 8" doing this! (these guys are smart - Japanese made armor doesn't offer this). Another option of putting on your armor easily by yourself, is to open it up, lay it flat on the ground and then lay face up into the back plate. You can then pull the chest plate closed over you. Your left arm along with gravity will press the chest plate down and the back plate will push forward. You will be able to close and tie your armor much easier. Also the lace is looped, so you can loop 1 lace through the other and pull it shut (like a clap) and tie it. (Over 500 years of ingenuity is put into this armor). As for the kote you can also tie the strings over your opposite shoulder. But they have updated the kote upon client suggestions and added a 2nd set of strings, so you can tie the kote around your arm as well as around your chest (or shoulder). You can also tie it directly to your armor as well to keep the sleeves up and to put the armor on more like an iron jacket! Talk to your local dealer about adding a ring to the armor along the left hip so you can lace your sageo through it or tai chi style katana. The Iron Mountain Armory can also add pockets to your armor as well.
The Japanese did have their own version of mail voiders, but they were not always worn and were not even very common depending on how high their status was.
There is an option under armor worn to fill the gaps and give extra protection under the armor. It is just like the shoulder padding you see in the video. The padding is like a gambison with iron plates sewn inside. It offers light to medium protection.
I bought a Tatami Armor from a good, well known store and the 2 arms were always a problem to me. Thank you for your suggestion how to make it better! It helps a lot! :)
Hey, very nice job. By the way many Japanese have problems with the kote sliding down the shoulder too so it just isn't us big westerners. What I found helps me is attaching the himo (ties) higher to the shoulder on the kote. A lot of Japanese just use extention cloth to bring the kote further across the chest but I haven't figured out how that works yet. Others tie the back two himo together and the front together, or attach another set of himo that ties over the top of the shoulder near the neck. For the Do I do the Japanese method. Sit the armor on the armorbox or chair open, standing up and then sit down and pull the armor around you while seated. To tie under the arm I also use a common japanese tactic and that is to cut the front or back (only one and preferably the front) himo so that it doesn't loop. Take one end and pull it through the looping himo then bow knot them together. It makes it easier to close it all the way. For the obi I used a traditional 32 foot long white cotton obi. It took me forever to find a way to put it on solo, but I like it a lot. The multiple layers from wrapping it so much protect the gap between the bottom of the do and the first kusazuri. Also the obi it comes with the armor by my reseach is for display only. As in only when the armor is presented on the stand or in parade. The Katana isssue can be solved by eather getting a Tachi or get a tachate for your katana, maybe. The himo on the sode can be tied behind the back to keep the sode from sliding forward. It so much a neccesity with smaller sode like yours but with Osode it is a must. Thanks for the video. I liked it a lot because I am always look for other people's input on how they wear their armor. Maybe some day we can sit down and talk face to face and share ideas. By the way where did you get your armor?
I'm sorry for the late response I did not realize there was so much more to your comment. RU-vid just showed me up until "down the shoulder too." Thank you for the information you provided. I am still experimenting to get the best feel for the armor I can get. I will have to try to move the himo on the sode higher up, I think that will work quite well. But tieing front to front and back to back didn't work at all for me. Right now the extra fabric or ties over the neck is working the best when I am actually moving about. Your do method makes sense and that is what I normally do. But I like the sling method I showed because it is more useful in the field or when I take the armor off to cool down when I am practicing. I will have to try the cut method. At least for mine I think I would have to shorten the back loop so that when the front pulls on it it can close the armor. I will certainly check it out. I just got a wrap that you put on before you put the armor on. I feel like it would help slashes rather well but fair less well against thrusts. Short of putting chainmail there I can't think of anything that would help that while allowing flexibility. I have not heard of a tachate honestly. I ended up making a leather wrap to protect it though which I am assuming is close of what that is. And I don't yet own a tachi, I have never been a fan of how they swing or look, but I get your point. For the sode I found adding two straps near the bottom and tieing them under the arm worked best for me so far. I've never had an issue with them falling forwards they always fall back or when I move too fast they just end up moving up and slapping the side of my kabuto, very annoying. I got the armor from the Fenglinhanjia armory in China. I am having a hard time finding them on google right now for some reason but is is japanese-armor dotcom. I got an upgraded version of their second highest grade, basically everything short of the laminated kabuto. I do have some complaints about some parts of the armor, but overall they are very nice sets when you consider their price point. I have a few other things draining my savings right now but I plan to take what I learned and invest in a higher quality Japanese made set soon. Partly to have something even more awesome, partly because I want to really put this cheaper set through its paces and not feel bad about it haha. Thank you for the information and it would be cool to talk to someone else who has samurai armor. Of everyone I know the closest I got is a guy who has a HEMA setup. Cool, but not really in the same boat.
Michael A. Thanks a lot for the added information. I appreciate the historical background that you mentioned. Half the fun I am having with this armor is customizing it for my preferences and I have since done a number of modifications to make it my own, and will probably keep doing so. My main addition was I made a spot welder and made a band of chainmail to wrap around that gap. I full understand it was for mobility, which it works great in that for sure, but I wanted something more. Figuring out how to attach it inside the armor so it didn't hurt the look the the armor was...interesting, but it was fun and pretty easy to bring back to historic if and when I want. Once again thanks for all the info and when I have some extra cash I'll start designing something else. By the way thanks for that email of the guys armor that followed my motif, it look very well done.
Inc Brothers "I've never had an issue with them falling forwards they always fall back or when I move too fast they just end up moving up and slapping the side of my kabuto, very annoying" I was at a Japanese collectable show a few weekends back and saw a unique solution to this problem on an old suit. Attached to the bottom kozane (plates) on the sode was attached a set of kohaze (clasps) that attached to a looped himo on the upper arm of the kote (similar to how the shoulder straps (watagami) attache to the front of the do). This will keep to tradition and keep your sode from ringing your kabuto like a bell. "Your do method makes sense and that is what I normally do. But I like the sling method I showed because it is more useful in the field or when I take the armor off to cool down when I am practicing." Yeah I can see that very clearly now. With the style of suneate that we got field dressing the traditional way (done in a kneeling position with the do resting on the thigh) is very uncomfortable. That is why that stlye of suneate was almost exclusivly for Calvary, because if your were rich enough to afford a horse you were rich enough to pay someone to help you put on your armor. Another way, that I realized I forgot to mention, to solve what I will now call the kote slip, was to make a sort of arming coat with them serving as the sleeves. You would have to remove the manchira from the do and sew them onto that and then make a front to which it would tie closed, but that may very well be your best bet.
Michael A. Hey Michael! It's nice to see you on here. I have made some strange requests from your armorers in the past and you have always been very helpful (I was the guy who requested an odoshi menpo, which I still am planning on getting just need a little time to pay off some other pieces I've collected). Another thing about removing the pin from the hinge on the do allows for a more compact fit in the bitsu by placing the back of the do into the front. Not necessary if you have a big enough bitsu but I couldn't resist getting an antique one for my armor. The bitsu just seemed so lifeless without armor to go in it (although I now have an antique suit stowed in it which fits much better).
Nice to meet you, I am Japanese. This video is very wonderful. I saw your video and learned to wear armor. Please keep doing a good job. I am sorry that my English is not good.
I am glad it helped. I would check out the comment below from xxantiotakuxx. He has some good ideas that might help you. And feel free to ask if you end up with any questions. And if you come up with any cool ideas on how to make wearing this armor easier please let us know.
Great video....I know this as a long time ago when it was posted, so maybe it's been corrected. But the issue you are having with your Kote straps, can easily be negated (and historically accurate) by adding toggles or loops onto the top of your Kote situated near the last, long metal plate. Those loops will in turn hook onto the toggle/loops that the Sode (shoulder guards) attach to on the metal straps of the dou. See here: www.sengokudaimyo.com/Archive/katchu/katchu.html Click on the chapter on Kote, and finally "Putting it on" and you can see how it all works.
That's so cool! I'm also in love with the Japanese culture, all of my friends think I was a Samurai in past life. Anyway cool video and Armor, you sure don't fool around.
I just bought samurai armor so this will help me when I get it! I didn't know if I needed to buy a kimono or not to complete the armor. but still, nice video!
The suneate should be bigger or tied lower on the leg. Haidate weren't always tied around the thighs. Kote are supposedly tied under the armor, how are you supposed to untie from there ? Not to mention mail and and plates being on the outside of the arm, it won't be a problem to shoot with a bow. It's not the right way to secure the sode either. "Traditionally", you push down the metal part on the laces on the shoulders of the armor, you slide the metal pins inside the loops and then you pull back the metal parts. That's why there here. the obi is also far from being just ornamental. An armor is heavy and without support at waist level, it weight all on your shoulder, turning it quickly tiring and unconfortable to use, specially when you need your shoulder muscles to use weapons. A properly tied obi helps to distribute the armor weight. One true thing is Do obi are rarely enough and can't be tied as tight as it should to support the weight, the use of an extra sarashi obi under it is helpful. With this, not only the weight is better distributed, but the hips are more free as well, leaving more freedom of movement. That's really an important part. My opinion too : leaving the kabuto cord dangling isn't a good idea as it's easy to grab for an opponent and to pull you down. The wakizashi or kodachi should be tightly between two layers of the obi. The lacker problem you have with you katana is also the reason why samurai had a tachi hanging down their side instead, often protected in animal skin (deer, boar, bear, even tiger sometimes). The way you wear it is good for a hakama and classical iaido.
I love the video! Great explanation on everything! But I have to say depending on the European armor you can put some types of armor on by yourself too. So far I can do it with my infantry plate armor in 2 to 4 minutes as it is not a full suit but a set of armor. And there is some practicality of the art of the blade, I used a lot of the basics & concepts in bayonet drills and it works very, very, very well.
I loved samurai since i first saw the movie the last samurai and when i played total war shogun 2. And now i can buy the type off armor that my favourite warrior fought in my dream is almost complete!! :D
victor johnson Yes, I know armorers that makes all sorts of armors Greek, Roman, Medieval/Renaissance AND Yes Samurai armors. The thing is save up for like a year and than buy it from a ARMORER so it can fit you well and properly. Trust me I have German Gothic plate armor and now I have to either modify the back plate or get new one from the same armorer. As the old back plate does not fit well with the front plate because they are made from two different people and the back plate was made from Windlass Steel craft a vender vs a armorer; so the back plate is a size that fits most vs a armorer that can make it for YOU. Point is save up than buy! I would save at least $3000.oo or maybe a little less like $1500.oo Or save a bit and buy part to part over time but from the same person. Just look around on who makes the armor you like, hell, I am sure that there may be a guy here that makes armor. I just found one as I been typing this. LOL!! Talk to Michael A. on here if you really really want one. He seems that he makes this stuff you like for a VERY good price!
Wow that's a really nice looking armor! Pretty soon I'm going to be starting an o-yoroi armor. I want to try to have it finished before May 5th which is boys day.
And there are no bolt action guns which was a big part in WW1. Could have put a bolt action between the muzzle loader and the ak,also remover the first AR becuase why have 2 on the shirt?
Well, the samurai class of japan's main weapon is formerly a bow, back in the days that the samurai class is still rising. Then they moved to polearms and spears. And due to the influence of western culture, they began using arquebus'/tanegashima.
at the arms: to prevent to fall off your arm, the traditional armor had a suit under the armor which had little loops on it and they tied the arm armor there to give some extra support to attach it to your arm. I just saw a video about samurais yesterday, this detail was seen for like...5 seconds
Interesting, most people would tie the belt (obi) Around the Wakizashi and then the Katana through the Obi, or by tying the Sageo of the Katana to the Wakizashi Saya. Interesting none the less.
***** The uwa-obi (round padded belt) was mainly for displaying and worn while at ceremonial events where a sword was not permitted. A sarashi belt (roughly 4 meters long x 3 cm wide) would be used while wearing the armor with katana. The katana(s), wakizashi and tanto (if added) would all be wrapped into the sarashi, under its own layer with the tanto being secured across the stomach. Please watch our channel as we will be posting detailed videos of how to wear our armor, why the armor is crafted the way it is, how it functions in combat, how it holds up against actual attacks and much more.
Your suneate are WAY too short for you. Those leg guards should, first, be just about cupping your knee, not sitting a fist length in front of it. Second, they're like 3 or 4 inches too short. The bottoms should come to just about an inch above where the bumps in the sides of your ankles are. the ones you have look like they were made for someone much shorter than you. Did you by chance get this set secondhand?
Pretty interesting, although I'm sure you're not supposed to keep the swords' sageo tied up like that. I think that was just a tactic used by Japanese merchants to sell swords to samurai, much to the samurai's added contempt for merchants.
zgSHADOW Correct, you are supposed to tie them to the belt as an added bit of insurance. Also can be used when doing certain iaijutsu draws. Not necessary but can be useful in certain applications. These swords are on display next to the armor since they match so I keep the ornamental know. Actual cutting blades, not so much.
Very cool video; I'm Japanese by descent, but currently have 14th C. European armor - go figure? I may someday get more ethnically correct armor :)! Impressive field expedient use of getting the kote on by yourself.
This is not at all traditional. It's not your fault, I assume this is Iron Mtn armor, and it's sad that they didn't get this correct. It's actually something that kept me from buying their gear. 1. The sleeves - the reason your kote are falling, is because they're laced wrong. Typically, kote had male toggles/frogs at the top of the shoulder, which went through a female loop on the watagami (shoulder straps). This keeps them from falling down, and actually makes the cross-body ties provided, redundant. Those male frogs would also serve as anchoring points for the sode, in some armors. The method that you landed on is actually similar to what was adopted later in the 16th century, when they sometimes connected the kote sleeves to the manchira, forming a sort of short jacket which would cover your chest and pad out your armor. Iron Mtn has a "fake manchira" glued or sewn to your armor, providing padding to the watagami. 2. When you tied your laces through the haidate thigh armor - no. That loop is there to either attach to a frog inside your do (chest armor) OR, you run a lace or cord through it. One end of the lace goes behind your left shoulder, over your right shoulder, and back down. It is then tied to the other end. It forms a sort of one-shouldered suspender to keep your haidate from falling down. It's more comfortable than attaching to the do, as it keeps the weight from hanging from the shoulder straps. Your method works, but only because you were forced to lace up the kote incorrectly. 3. When you tied your takehimo to close your armor - there should be a loop of cord on the back of your armor, and then one cord coming through two holes on the front of your armor. The front cord should be uneven, with one long end, and one short end. The long end goes through the loop on the back, gets pulled forward again, and gets tied to the short end. It makes a much cleaner knot, and the leverage will help you pull the armor tighter over your belly. 4. The menpo - when you put on the helmet. The cords of your helmet go in front of the hooks, then cross behind your head, come back out around your neck, cross over your throat, and go back over your shoulders. The cords hold the menpo against your face, and also hold the yodare-kake (your neck bib) against your throat so that they can't get a sword in there. Additionally, by running the cord behind your head, most of its length is now hidden where it is not easily cut by a sword. One of the most popular cuts for dealing with armored opponents was to thrust the blade between the mask and helmet skirts, slashing the side of the neck. If your helmet cords are not tied properly, there's a good chance your menpo will gap and they'll get your neck, AND they'll cut your helmet cord, so that your face and throat protection falls off, and your helmet becomes wobbly. 5. Your tachi go blade-down like a western sword when wearing armor. Blade up when wearing a kimono, blade down in armor. When you go to draw your katana blade-down, you can cross draw it across your armor, making it faster, easier, and more accessible in the press of a melee (remember, your katana is the sidearm for your naginata or yari). If it's blade-up, you have to draw it straight forward, which also happens to be impossible on horseback. The reason it goes blade up in cloth armor, is because it is tucked much higher into the belt and you need to be able to draw it upward and forward, rather than across and back. The wakizashi also gets tied in as part of putting on your obi, so that it can't slide around or fall out. The obi goes once around your waist, then hold your wakizashi where it will rest. The obi goes around again until it comes to the wakizashi, it goes under the saya (scabbard) and up, then goes around your back again - essentially it changes direction. Keep wrapping in this direction until you get back to the wakizashi, where you go under and down, then around the back again. Finally, go all the way around your body so that the obi goes over the wakizashi entirely, and then tie it off. You'll need an obi that is 4-5 times your waist measurement. 5.5 - the reason the saya of your katana is getting murdered, is because you're wearing it wrong. It doesn't go through your obi, which causes it not to hang freely, rub against your armor and abrade. Rather, you untie that nice decorational knot wrapped around your saya, called a sageo. If untied, the sageo should be long enough to go around your waist twice. Pull the two ends of the cord so that they cross on your left hip, then bring them around and tie them on your right hip. You can do this after donning your obi, or you can do it before, so that the obi helps protect the sageo. That armor is also as much "Kenshin's" as it is Shingen's or Masamune's. It is not nearly as ostentatious as a daimyo's armor would be, and nobody has a surviving suit which can be definitively linked to him. The closest is probably the harmaki do in the Uesugi shrine at Yonezawa, although, that might have belonged to his family and not to him, as its design is rather older fashioned for the latter 16th century.
I can't say I've seen any literature which suggest that a _samurai_ would take off his left _kote_ for the purposes of using a bow. _Hadanugi_ (baring the left arm) is for those wearing _kimono_ or similar garments, where voluminous and billowy sleeves would interfere with the bow's action (women would tie a _tasuki_). If you look at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yabusame you can see that the archers wear something very similar to a _yoroi's kote_ on their left arms. Indeed, some sources say the _kote_ was evolved from forearm guards/pads that originally protected against the bow-string. I'm also surprised the _kote_ was not secured via frogs to the _watagami_ (_sodetsuke/kotezuke no takahimo_) and incorporating the _sode_ as well. It's not a problem in terms of historical authenticity, but it would have eliminated the awkwardness of having straps tied around your ribs. I suspect that it has something to do with ease of manufacturing: with the straps you can adjust the slack and fit, whereas with the frogs the _kote's_ fit would have to have been more finely tailored.
I have never heard of taking off the left kote. I can't site the literature, but I have seen numerous accounts that you would untie the right kote (the knot would be on the left so that may be where you are getting left from) which would free the upper portion of the kote quite a bit. The armor would still be somewhat secured due to the lower ties but the increased flexibility you get allows for a considerable easier time drawing a bow fully in my experiments. I am surprised they used a guard at all with a yumi. Whenever I've shot one a combination of the arrow being mounted on the right of the bow, the grip, and anchor position result in far reduced likelihood of string hits to the forearm compared to an "English" style. But I suppose when riding on horseback even with perfect form normally, I can see contact occurring. Still I find the idea of the evolution you described doubtful. As most kote are secured via laces where a string could make contact and the plates are only on the outside to guard against blades. Will the inner cloth protect against string? Perhaps. But I doubt that is the purpose. And I agree. A better securing system is desperately needed. I did find in a later harness attempt that moving the string attachment point so they originate closer to the top of the shoulder did result in much better mobility. Their position so low on the sleeve may be an error in production (at least for my body type), but it seems to match museum pieces I've seen so I can't guarantee anything.
Jeremy Permenter I said I wasn't using japanese terminology to make it simple for people to understand. Though honestly most everyone probably knows that one.
Inc Brothers Ah fair enough. I must have missed that when police sirens were going by. I live in Los Angeles so I hear a lot of that. I took a look at the website you recommended and I must thank you. I could not find the right Yoroi armor that, I guess you could say, called out to me until that sight. I have chosen the dragon scale (Hatamoto Samurai Armor). That one is practically screaming out to me. Again, thank you
Inc Brothers Oh, is your katana Iaito or Shinkendo? I was just wondering because if you are ever looking for shinkendo and don't mind waiting a year for forging, I can recommend a place. Unless you already know one. Mine is just about complete. Just the Fuchi, Fuchikashira, etc need to be complete.
Jeremy Permenter I am not entirely sure what you mean. I have practiced the styles of iaido and shinkendo. This is not an iaito, an sharpened sword, though I do have a couple of those. Technically these particular katana and wakizashi have unokubi zukuri blades. I like that profile quite a bit as it seems to work better with niten ichi ryu that I dabble in. Plus, they are a little more unique which I always a plus:)
very cool. great video. i have videos of me riding horseback in the mountains in samurai armor. doing tamishigiri in samurai armor. archery in armor. kenjutsu. fighting etc. we share a common insterest i see. peace from mt hood oregon
Another way to wear the kote (sleeve) is to cross tie each under the opposite armpit. Your way of tying the mempo (mask) is not very secured. There are two loops from the same rope of the kabuto (helmet). The same rope should run through these loops an brought forward to be secured at the chin of the mask.
Your kote technique is what I would call the normal way. When I do it that way it restricts my movement quite a bit. Since this video I've come up with a far easier technique/harness. Though it is not historically accurate, it works for my purpose. There are a ton of way to tie the helmet and masks that I've experimented with, some I like others I didn't. I find this way adequate and quick. But I am not entirely understanding what you are trying to say. Could you try to be more descriptive?
Good find. I'll give a few of those a try. Though I will need to get a longer rope for some of those I think. This version it is quite short, which limits what I can do.
Well technically they did have armor on the feet, but that set just didn't come with any. I have seen armor that goes over your shoe and has a bunch of hair like strands all around it, I saw a set of armor selling for $2100 plus a $480 shipping that was from Japan that I wouldn't mind having.
Very awesome video! Thank you for sharing! :-) I want to ask what color is the armor you have? Because I cannot see I am blind. I also want to ask where can I buy one of these armors? Thank you so much this video was awesome it made my day!
I think I see what the problem is with your arm armor. I've seen Japanese armor where there are loops at the top of the sleeve that go around the togs on the shoulder straps of the chest piece.
going to argue depending on which time period your talking about a knight can put on his own armor alone and with practice do so decently quickly. like the samurai a knight wore something for battle and somewhere along the line both parties thought, "hey what if don't have help?" even a knight dressed in what is referred to as Maximilian armor can put it on without too much difficulty by himself despite it being full plate armor. I don't know too much about samurai armors but i can say they make and impressive impression and warriors wore them for a long period of time so they obviously worked. my point is samurai armor seems no more difficult to put on then European plate armor. I do have a question and that is, with all the lashings and exposed ropes what is the average lifespan of the armor in a drawn out battle?
Based on those I know in the HEMA community, and trying it myself, I say putting on full plate harness is a major hassle all by yourself, and depending on the configuration it can be impossible. Big loose SCA/LARP gear is easier because it is big and designed to be put on by yourself. But a properly fitted, fully protective, accurate suit can be a pain in the butt even with help sometimes. But yes, for some it is doable. I will still argue that it is easier with samurai armor, but that topic is largely a non issue from my point of view. Just an interesting factoid for the most part. As to your question, I can not give you an actual answer. There where particular styles that would target the ropes specifically to disable the armor, but I think that was generally not the case. Despite our idea of them using the katana as a primary weapon, they mostly fought with bows (yumi) and spear (yari/other) formations. In these areas you are either looking to defeat the armor directly, or target its weaknesses. Same with a katana when all is said and done. Yes, you could target the ropes and then attack the opening you created, or you could just attack an opening that is already there. I am sure there are accounts of damage to ones armor resulting in injury or death later in the battle but I can not cite any for you. This can be seen in many different eras and areas. Off the top of my head, certain cultures would target helmet chin straps (some would later even armor those strap), cut the front leather strap on certain styles of full plate harness where the cuirass was in two pieces. Targeting the reigns of a horseman to impair their control of the horse to gain an advantage. I'm sure there are many others. The short story is, yes damaging someones gear can give you an advantage. As long as you do it safely, and don't make it your primary/obvious goal, that is.
Firstly the method you put on that suit of I'll fitting, not made for you armour is incorrect, there are period descriptions of which putting all of this on was used. Your kote should be tied under you armpits not around your neck. knights and samurai both would put their own stuff on if they were poor knights or samurai, without servants. The gaps that you are speaking about should not exist the ties should be completely hidden. Having worn two different full suits both built for me, I can say that you don't notice the weight. also using HEMA as your historical source is in bad taste, they study a very specific single document, it's like saying all martial arts are judo. SCA armour is not large to be put on by your self it is in most cases very accurate to historical models in most of the armours use the historic pieces to make their patterns. If anything the SCA armour is smaller in some regards. Sorry if I am raining on your parade on this, but yeah to actually answer the earlier question a samurai on campaign would wear his armour off and on for a month or so and when he got back would get it repaired if needed.
First off, your comment on HEMA is quite funny. while I see your points on the other topics, your knowledge of HEMA is lacking. HEMA is so broad a topic, comprised of well over 100 treatises and manuals , covering almost every bladed weapon system (not to mention unarmed fighting, wrestling, armored and unarmored, and even mounted combat) seen in the European area over many centuries. Far from a "single specific document." I mentioned that the way the armor was designed the typical kote tying method limited my movement too much so I modified it to meet my needs. I have since modified it further to be even less encumbering. I have seen four methods used in historical armors, and I cared for none with this armor. No matter how you tie this armor there will be gaps unprotected by steel unless you fill them with voiders. An ashigaru wearing this armor would likely never have those however. Besides with the style of fighting they used, those gaps are far less of an issue then many think. Some suits of European harness required help, some didn't. Depending on the exact time we are talking and the exact class of person who owned the armor. Even if you could do it yourself, every full plate I've ever seen works significantly better/faster with help. Samurai armor requires minimal if any help if it came down to it, but it would, of course, make it easier. Make a video with your armor proving your points and I'll be glad to check it out. Some SCA armor is accurate, but most of what I see is over engineered even if it does look the part. The demands for SCA armor simply don't match the demands for medieval armor. SCA fighters just beat each other, while historically bypassing the armor was the focus (ignoring polearms). High end armor fits the body perfectly, and while I've seen a few proper fitting armors in my limited SCA experience, many were simply generic off the shelf bulky armor shaped pieces of metal. This armor would be an example of the later, a decorative piece that I won't use in combat. Sure looks nice in the den though.
Hi this is a great torotial i really enjoyed it ! can you show me replicas like this one with good materials and somewhat cheap ? since i looked around and i found either expensive or really cheap low grade materials
Hass PerieratSoul in the info box is where I got this set. They have 3 tiers of armor. Mine is the 2nd tier where they use real leather, silk, etc, and do a lot more detail work. There first tier uses synthetic materials and a little less detail on certain parts. I know they have some basic versions that are a grand or under. The big difference other then the materials is that they are simplified. They don't have all the ornamentation, the waves on the plates or designs. But it is still the same steel thickness and placed the same so it will fit a perform pretty much the same. But that is really as cheap as they go. There is a lot of materials and man hours into every suit, it is pretty cool they can sell them for that low in my opinion. The account Michael A. located in the comments below is the owner I believe of the company so you can pm him directly or you can go to their site and email them as I am sure they can answer questions better then I. Very helpful and they can do just about anything you'd want.
Hass PerieratSoul Thank you for your interest. All of our armor is traditionally made with a few modern techniques and materials, which are used to increase durability and safety in the armor. We do offer 3 quality levels of Kachi (economical), Gashira (standard) and Taisho (high quality). We can also craft the armor in even higher quality but the price range increases greatly and starts at about $4,000 and works its way up quickly. We sell our armor worldwide, including Japan at very reasonable and quite affordable prices, when compared to Japanese armories. This is mainly because we have pride and passion in our work and believe that quality samurai armor should be made affordably for everyone. Just like Japanese armories, we keep our standards high but our prices low. We will be making a video in 2 weeks to demonstrate details of our armor, in the studio and field of battle. Feel free to PM me or contact me through our website for any specific details or pictures.
Shakeel Ahmed For the most part yes. This was a highly customized set that I started with their Uesugi Kenshin model, which naturally came with beads. They have a more advanced, artistic "shogun" quality set for him that has even more religious details, especially the crest. I personally don't wear them most of the time, but they were a cool freebie.
Hey just out of curiousity, did you purchase that sword trough ebay from swordsmith668 or something? :D My friend had a sword (and the sheath) exactly the same looking as yours
Moto Rad Technically, sure. You can wear whatever you want under it. When I practice with it I find standard athletic pants and a t-shirt are easier to work with and they are easy to clean since you will be sweating wearing this.
Wouldn't samurai wear (just like knights) thick clothing underneath their armour? If they did, the weak spots (though still weak spots) would certainly be better protected.
+Mac Rebs No, not really. Typically they wore yoroi hitatare, traditional short sleeve (more comfortable but long sleeve was used) and "baggy" pants that you will see at most Japanese swordsmanship expositions. Though I do agree, a decent gambeson would work quite well as long as it did not decrease flexibility at all. Why they didn't use them I don't know.
+Mac Rebs the samurai had many different styles of clothing they would wear under their armor. Some would wear simple clothing while others would wear chainmail, gambison coats and gambison with kiko (iron plates) inside.
+Lazy Spark I've wondered the same. Best answer I can give you is it wasn't needed. They didn't use percussive weapons nearly as much and they did in Europe. As such padding wasn't as necessary. But gambesons stop slashes well too, so I don't know really. Might be heat. Might also be that it just wasn't needed or maybe even thought of. Frankly, this armor works fine against the weapons they would likely face. Yes, it has its weaknesses, but I'm not sure the addition of padding would do all that much given the weapons and tactics they faced.
Devoti Apologies, I didn't elaborate on my point. What I mean is that I'm not sure wool was as abundant in Japan as silk was. I didn't mean to imply Japan had scarce resources in general, just ones that are considered commonplace to the west. Please correct me if I'm mistaken.
+Devoti Let me clarify my point. From what I got from Lazy Spark's question was a basic comparison of European vs Japanese arms and armor. While I think it is well known that the Japanese had percussive weapons if we compare the ratio of those who used them in Japan versus in Europe we will see quite a large difference. This ratio comparison changes dramatically based on the specific time frames we are talking about. But as a rule, I would argue, both forces predominantly would have been made up of spear, bow, and swordsmen. In Japan, these weapons work well against their armor. And while percussive weapons would no doubt have been useful, I would not call them common from what records I have seen. At least not compared to how common they were, our of shear necessity, in Europe in order to overcome their superior armor. This topic is multifaceted. I would wager climate had something to do with it, weapons were a factor, and there may be other crucial reasons. There is a whole lecture on the subject but the lack of a commonplace Japanese gambeson may come down to evolution. While chainmail does exist in the Asian world, it seemed generally true lamellar armor was the predominant evolutionary path their armor took. From rawhide to steel, to a sort of plate/lamellar/chain hybrid in my example. Compared to Europe where from the Roman era (maybe earlier) onwards, chainmail was the predominant armor for anyone who could afford it. If you wore chainmail you needed a gambeson for it to be effective. If you were too poor to buy chainmail, you bought a gambeson, because it would provide adequate protection and might keep you alive while you saved up for chainmail. And from there you get plate (maybe just pieces, a brigandine, a coat of plates, whatever) to protect yourself further until you are a full man at arms, and so on. So perhaps the final answer may be climate, weapons encountered, and just the evolution of armor as a whole in the area, and well as others I can't think of at the moment.
+Devoti What I was referring to is that people spend their lives studying parts of this subject, writing books, teaching, etc. I can not cover everything in a small youtube comment. But the details are rarely father then a few searches away. No, I did not mean ranks of people with only swords. Swords are a sidearm, for when your primary is not usable or for just general "walking around" type of stuff. At least in this period. And I think you and I are debating over the terminology of "common" at this point. I am familiar with basically "voiders" for the Japanese and even full chainmail jackets etc. And of course my armor has portions on chainmail too. These did exist, but were not what I would call common. Even if every true samurai probably had voiders. Especially compared to Europe where standard gambeson and full mail jackets was the standard armor of entire armies at certain points of time. Padding also existed, yes. Silk works decent at stopping slashes, and layering with other materials certainly would have been useful. But once again if you compare it to Europe where almost everyone had at least some style of gambeson plus potentially other armor, I would say that Japanese "padded armor" would be "less common." Same with percussive weapons. They were certainly used by Japan but I would call them uncommon compared to spears, swords, and bows. In Europe, in certain eras where swords where becoming less effective against armor, the proportion of percussive "anti-armor" weapons would increase, making them more "common."
+SemperFiMac77 Nope, at least that is my opinion. Late stage full plate harness was just amazing.. But the advances of the European armor were driven by the tactics they used and the weapons they encountered. As those changed, the armor did as well to better protect their wearer. There is a long and complicated history there to be sure. But in my opinion this style of armor worked in the Japanese style of fighting. Generally speaking, if something is found to be lacking, people will try to fix the issues, especially when your life is on the line. With that in mind, if there was some big issue with this armor and how it dealt with war, it would have changed. We can argue about which is better, but the ones that actually used it felt it was adequate for them. There is the possibility that they were not technically skilled enough, or didn't have the materials to improve the armor I suppose. But I believe it has more to do with their style of combat. One other things, people always claim samurai armor is lighter and more mobile. While I personally find the weight distribution is pretty great, and my mobility is not hurt too much, it isn't that different then the European stuff. If you have properly fitting full plate harness it isn't too heavy or cumbersome. I would argue it is slightly more inhibiting when it comes to the arms, and vision is certainly worse, but otherwise it is not that much worse. But armored fighting is armored fighting. You use similair techniques and the major weak spots are similair. Arguably, if you get to a weak spot on a samurai it is easier to cause damage then to a knight's weak spot, but the knight also doesn't have as many minor weak spots, such as the underside of the arms.
victor johnson They offer several different options but the owner has told me that at least one other person has requested my particular set of armor, with a few modifications, and they had no problem recreating it. Just write them and tell them you want the Inc Brothers Musashi themed armor seen on youube. Michael A. down below in the comments is the owner and he should be able to help get you exactly what you want. Tell them I sent you though maybe they can send me a few armor pieces so I can do some strength tests on them haha.
victor johnson We would be happy to work with you in customizing your armor set for you. Our website is www.japanese-armor.com You can choose between any of our many models or mix and match. You can also visit our FaceBook page to see many other suits we have made. Feel free to PM me with any questions.
Victor, yes we will be adding the banner and posts to our online catalogue soon. If you are able to follow us on FaceBook (facebook.com/JapaneseArmour) we make all of our update announcements and product updates via this forum.
+Jagar Alagoria Same reasons I don't have any of the other auxiliary armor pieces. What I have was just the basic components that most samurai would have found adequate. Would it be nice to have more neck protection? Sure. Do I need it? No. Frankly the neck isn't so bad for me. I'd much rather have some of the armored vests to protect the armpits or better arm armor in general. Also, I don't know of anyone making production versions of most aux. armors from Japan. It would have to be custom probably.
do you know if this is the same tyoe as found on kulf of athena? does it come with the display stand and what was the price? im having dificulty acessing the link you provided at the moment
No, the kult of athena offers from another maker. Mine came with the stand and cost around $2000. The link seems to work for me but f you google iron mountain armory you should be able to find it.
What speaks more for the Evolution of Humanity then Weapons ? The Ability to talk instead of killing each other i guess. Dont get me wrong, i really like Medieval Weapons, Ancient Weapons and Gunpowder Weapons ( i just dont like the look and functionality of modern weapons ), but i wouldnt consider them any good in terms of Evolution. In fact it just shows we really didnt improved at all.
I've played with small game hunting ones, but I have no particular interest in them. I recall they were used by the IRA but other then that I don't know of any major warfare use with them.
Udesii Baar'ur Yep, check the info box for info on the armory. I got kind of their mid-line armors and changed it to my liking. They have plenty of models to pick from and you can pick an chose parts from each, change colors, and pretty much do whatever. Just contact them and tell them what you want and see how it goes from there. Mine was about $2000. I think it starts a little under a grand and goes on up from there.
Udesii Baar'ur Michael A. in the comments below is part of that company, the head I believe, so you could PM your questions to him here as well if you prefer that.
This defnatly doesn’t look like an actual samurai armour and the fact that ur not wearing a kimono under that is disturbing me and the way u equipped the katanas T-T i will commit breath not reach lungs
Lmao the way you're holding the sword in the intro of the video is triggering me. For someone who has practiced both kendo and iaido, i'm surprised you feel ok by holding it like that. This is not a baseball match babe ruth!
I would use this in a zombie apocalypse. I'm sure zombies can't bite through the armor and I'm pretty sure a katana can slice rotting flesh easily. And it offers decent moveability. So yeah I'll be slicing up zombies if that ever happens. Probably not tho.
