Suneate are a type of armored shin protection worn by the samurai

Samurai

is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...

class during the feudal era of Japan. Suneate first started being used in the 12th century.

Description

The suneate most commonly consisted of vertical armor plates of iron or leather that are connected by either hinges or chain armor kusari, suneate could also be made almost entirely of chain armor kusari. The armour of the suneate was usually attached to a cloth backing which had cloth straps that were used to tie the suneate to the lower leg. There is usually a leather guard abumi-zure attached to the inner side of the place that will come into contact with the stirrup when riding. The more ancient examples of these shinguards are seen as plates, often with rather large knee guards attached. When worn the abumi-zure of the suneate will be placed toward the inner side of the leg.