Tatami (畳具足), or tatami gusoku (from 畳む tatamu, "to fold", and gusoku, "full suit of armour"), [1] was a type of lightweight portable folding Japanese armour worn during the feudal era of Japan by the samurai class and their foot soldiers ( ashigaru). The Tatami dō (a foldable cuirass) or the tatami katabira (an armoured jacket) were the main components of a full suit of tatami armour. [2]
A tatami gusoku (complete suit of folding armor) includes a tatami dō or tatami katabira (jacket) and a tatami kabuto (helmet) chochin kabuto, [3] 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; [4] 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. [5] Tatami armours were worn by all samurai classes from the highest class to the lowest class. The higher class samurai wore elaborate armour [1] 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 [2] 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. [4]
Tatami (畳具足), or tatami gusoku (from 畳む tatamu, "to fold", and gusoku, "full suit of armour"), [1] was a type of lightweight portable folding Japanese armour worn during the feudal era of Japan by the samurai class and their foot soldiers ( ashigaru). The Tatami dō (a foldable cuirass) or the tatami katabira (an armoured jacket) were the main components of a full suit of tatami armour. [2]
A tatami gusoku (complete suit of folding armor) includes a tatami dō or tatami katabira (jacket) and a tatami kabuto (helmet) chochin kabuto, [3] 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; [4] 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. [5] Tatami armours were worn by all samurai classes from the highest class to the lowest class. The higher class samurai wore elaborate armour [1] 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 [2] 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. [4]