japanese suits of armour

[tuancd]

Hi! everybody,
As I've been redirected to swap forum, this is just to tell that I have posted some pictures of our exhibition in Bruxelles in this part of the forum.

Any member will be more than welcome if they can get up to here for the rest of us, I'll try to give more pictures on the swap forum.

for any inquiry about the suits of armour you can open a thread or mail me direct.

all the best
cedric

[Andrew]

Here's the thread from the swap forum. Thanks for sharing this, Cedric.

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=658

[Conogre]

Simply beautiful and thank you for posting it here.
I have to think that in Japanese armor the epitome of intimidation was reached in the civilized world, with the unfortunate person facing the Samuri almost certain to think we was being approached by a demon or even death itself, whle a trend along these lines can also be seen in some Indonesian armors/war coats as well.
I am often fascinated by the fact that the katana, often touted as the "ultimate sword" (at least by afficianadoes) was accompanied by laquered wooden and laminate armor, as opposed to the heavy plate armor of the west, with mobility obviously considered at least as important as protection.
The armor in Japan, by the way, remained in use longer because their isolationism kept the firearm from having an effect far longer than in the west.
Simply beautiful.

[Andrew]

Mike, I'm pretty sure Japanese armor was not laquered wood, rather it was laquered metal plates.

Well, not really sure, just something I recall reading, but can't put my finger on right now. Is Rich out there to help us on this one?

[Conogre]

I've seen both Andrew, and in some cases, some of the plates were actually laminated silk of many layers that actually ended up being the precurser of fibreglass.
In some cases thin strips of wood were also laminated with each layers' grain opposite that of the next which results in a tremendously strong and yet lightweight piece that offers a tremendous amount of protection.
I suspect that the armor was actually intended more as protection form arrows and polearms than from the katanas themselves, although a certain amount of defense would obviously be afforded even here.
Likewise, as far back as ancient Greece, many of the "sculptured" armors representing the physique were likewise laminated linnen as well, something that I was tremendously surprised to learn, which also explains to a large degree why so few were preserved except in art.
Mike

[Greyman]

Originally Posted by Andrew

Mike, I'm pretty sure Japanese armor was not laquered wood, rather it was laquered metal plates.

Well, not really sure, just something I recall reading, but can't put my finger on right now. Is Rich out there to help us on this one?

I think you will find that the japanese used the following and more.....

Dog Hide

Paper

Wood

Cow hide

Deer hide

Iron
Copper
Brass {Later}
Silk
Fish skin
Shark teeth
etc,etc,etc.

The great thing about closing the doors to the world is that a society then concentrates and evolves methods peculiar to that society....can you imagine how surprised they were when the Matchlock arrived?.

[Andrew]

Mike, I missed your response earlier. Many thanks for the clarification.

Greyman, thank you for your input, as well. Welcome to the forum.

[tuancd]

Hi! everyone

For the armours I have at the moment they all are in lacquered forged iron.
actually fire weapons started to spread from the second half of the 17th century. That explain the change of style from plates of iron linked by silk and cuirass of bullet proof iron. In the 18th century there's a revival of the old style since the times where more peaceful.

Thanks for the enthusiasm
Cedric