Kusari katabira is the Japanese term for mail armour. Kusari is a type of armour used by the samurai class and their retainers in feudal Japan. When the word kusari is used in conjunction with an armo
Edo period Japanese (samurai) chain armour or kusari gusoku
Rare 1800s photograph showing kusari katabira (chain armour jackets) and hachi-gane (forehead protectors) with kusari shikoro (chain armour neck guards) being worn
Riveted kusari sangu
Double butted 6 in 1 kusari
Japanese armour
Videos
Japanese armour first appeared in the 4th century, as evidenced by the discovery of cuirasses and basic helmets in graves.
Kusari (Japanese mail armour)
…makes up the majority of the armour defence. The Japanese had more varieties of mail than all the rest of the world put together. Kusari was used in samurai armour at least from the time of the Mongol invasions of Japan (1270s) but particularly from the Nanboku-chō period (1336–1392). Kusari was typically made…
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