Japanese armour
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Japanese armour first appeared in the 4th century, as evidenced by the discovery of cuirasses and basic helmets in graves.
Ō-yoroi, Kamakura period, 13th-14th century, National Treasure, Kasuga Grand Shrine.
Dō-maru, Muromachi period, 15th century, Important Cultural Property, Tokyo National Museum
Gusoku Armour from the Kii Tokugawa Family. Edo period, 17th century. Minneapolis Institute of Art. In 2009, it sold for $602,500, the highest bid in Christie's history for a Japanese armour.
Gusoku Armour with a medieval revival style. Cloud dragon is drawn using maki-e technique. Edo period, 19th century, Tokyo Fuji Art Museum
Ō-yoroi
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The ō-yoroi is a prominent example of early Japanese armor worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The term ō-yoroi means "great armor".
Japanese armour
…century, as evidenced by the discovery of cuirasses and basic helmets in graves. During the Heian period (794–1185), the unique Japanese samurai armour ō-yoroi and dō-maru appeared. The Japanese cuirass evolved into the more familiar style of body armour worn by the samurai known as the dō, with the use of…
A samurai wearing an ō-yoroi; two of the large skirt-like kusazuri can be seen—Ō-Yoroi had four kusazuri, unlike other armour of the era, which usually had seven kusazuri.
A man wearing a replica of the dark blue threaded Kon'ito-odoshi Ō-yoroi, 1935
An armourer making a replica of Ō-yoroi, 1935