tatami (Japanese armour)

A tatami gusoku (complete suit of folding armor) includes a tatami dō or tatami katabira (jacket) and a tatami kabuto (helmet) chochin kabuto,{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wExlaM1ov0sC&pg=PA98 |title=Samurai: The Code of the Warrior |first1=Thomas |last1=Louis |first2=Tommy |last2=Ito |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. |year=2008 |page=98 |isbn=9781402763120}} or tatami zukin (hood) or similar type of head protection along with the other related parts of a full suit of Japanese armour. Collapsible head protection such as hachi gane and other collapsible armor are also tatami armor; a traditional kabuto could also be part of a tatami gusoku.

Tatami armour was lightweight, portable, convenient for transportation, and they were manufactured inexpensively for the ashigaru light infantry. Tatami armours were worn by all samurai classes from the highest class to the lowest class. The higher class samurai wore elaborate armour while the lower class samurai and retainers wore simpler versions.

In his book Arms and Armor of the Samurai: The History of Weaponry in Ancient Japan Ian Bottomley shows a karuta tatami do and a karuta tatami kabuto (p. 88), and discusses different types of tatami dō karuta gane dō and kikko gane dō on p. 91. George Cameron Stone shows a kikko tatami armor on p. 606 of his book A glossary of the construction, decoration, and use of arms and armor.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A4Rp_Qx9in4C&pg=PA70 |title=Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times |first=George Cameron |last=Stone |author-link=George Cameron Stone |page=606 |publisher=Courier Corporation |year=1999 |isbn=9780486407265}}

• Karuta{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BFiICwAAQBAJ&pg=PT59 |title=Samurai 1550-1600 |first=Anthony J. |last=Bryant |author-link=Anthony J. Bryant |editor-first=Angus |editor-last=McBride |editor-link=Angus McBride |page=59 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |date=20 February 2013 |isbn=9781472801777}} are small lacquered square or rectangular iron (sometimes leather) plates usually connected together by chainmail and sewn to a cloth backing.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=--q6CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA138 |title=Warriors of Medieval Japan |first=Stephen |last=Turnbull |author-link=Stephen Turnbull (historian) |publisher=Bloomsbury USA |date=22 May 2007 |page=138 |isbn=9781846032202}}

File:Tatami gusoku.JPG|Edo period samurai folding suit of armor tatami gusoku completely matched set with karuta tatami dō and chochin kabuto

File:Karuta tatami dou and zukin.JPG|Karuta tatami dō and karuta zukin (hood)

File:Hara-ate karuta tatami dou.JPG|Edo period samurai karuta tatami dō in the hara-ate style

File:Antique Japanese karuta katabira 1.JPG|Karuta katabira

• Kikko are small iron or leather hexagon plates{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/samuraiwarriorso0000brya |url-access=registration |title=The Samurai: Warriors of Medieval Japan, 940-1600 |year=2010 |first1=Anthony J. |last1=Bryant |author-link=Anthony J. Bryant |first2=Angus |last2=McBride |author2-link=Angus McBride |publisher=Osprey Publishing |page=[https://archive.org/details/samuraiwarriorso0000brya/page/63 63]}} usually connected together by kusari or chainmail, and sewn to a cloth backing.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?ei=TjIkTZutNcOC8gbY8432AQ |title=Arms and Armor of the Samurai: The History of Weaponry in Ancient Japan |first=Ian |last=Bottomley |editor-first=Anthony |editor-last=Hopson |publisher=Crescent Books |year=1993 |pages=88, 91, 92 |isbn=9780517103180}}

File:Tetsu kikko tatami dou.jpg|Edo period tetsu kikko tatami dō. A lightweight portable folding tatami cuirass, made from small metal hexagonal plates (kikko), sewn to a cloth backing.

File:Kikko tatami dou.JPG|Edo period kikko tatami dō. A cuirass with small hexagon armor plates kikko. The kikko are connected to each other by chainmail and sewn to a cloth backing.

File:Kikko tatami dou 2.JPG|Edo period kikko tatami dō, shown folded up

File:Nerigawa kikko katabira.jpg|Kikko katabira

• Kusari is mail or chain armour, normally sewn to a cloth or leather backing.{{cite book |title=The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge |volume=15 |publisher=Encyclopedia Americana Corporation |year=1919 |pages=742–744}}{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/helmetsandbodya00deangoog |title=Helmets and Body Armor in Modern Warfare |first=Bashford |last=Dean |author-link=Bashford Dean |publisher=Yale University Press, Metropolitan Museum of Art |location=New York, N.Y. |year=1920 |page=[https://archive.org/details/helmetsandbodya00deangoog/page/n180 172]}}

File:Kusari dou.jpg|Kusari tatami dō, a cuirass made from chain armour shown next to a traditional iron cuirass

File:Kusari gusoku 11.JPG|Kusari tatami gusoku, a suit of chain armour

File:Kusari gusoku 5.JPG|Kusari tatami gusoku, a suit of chain armour

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• Dou (dō)
• Plated mail
• Brigandine
• Kikko (Japanese armour)
• Karuta (Japanese armour)
• Kusari (Japanese mail armour)
• Japanese armour

{{Div col end}}

{{Reflist|2}}

{{Commons category|Tatami (Japanese armour)}}

• [http://www.artsofthesamurai.com/ Samurai Arms and Armor]
• [http://www.sengokudaimyo.com Anthony Bryant's online Japanese armour manual]

{{Japanese (samurai) weapons, armour and equipment}}

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Category:Japanese clothing

Category:Samurai armour