Tatami-dō
Encyclopedia
A Tatami dou (Japanese
: 畳胴), is one part of a Tatami dou (dō) gusoku (畳胴具足),which is a full suit of lightweight portable folding Japanese armour
worn during the feudal era of Japan by the samurai
class and their foot soldiers ashigaru
. The Tatami dou (dō) was a folding type of chest armor (hence its name Tatami, from Tatamu 畳む, "To fold") and ( dō or dou ) which refers to a chest armor.
. Collapsible head protection such as hachi gane and other collapsible armors are also tatami armors.
Tatami dou (dō) are lightweight, portable, convenient for transportation, and were manufactured inexpensively and in great numbers for the ashigaru
light infantry.Tatami dou (dō) were worn by all samurai classes from the highest class to the lowest class. The higher class samurai wore elaborate tatami dou (dō)while the lower class samurai and retainers wore plain basic tatami-dō.
Ian Bottomley in his book "Arms and Armor of the Samurai: The History of Weaponry in Ancient Japan" shows a karuta tatami do and a karuta tatami kabuto p. 88 and he discusses different types of tatami dou (dō) karuta gane dou (dō) and kikko gane dou (dō) on p. 91 and George Cameron Stone shows a kikko tatami armor in his book "A glossary of the construction, decoration, and use of arms and armor" p. 606.
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
: 畳胴), is one part of a Tatami dou (dō) gusoku (畳胴具足),which is a full suit of lightweight portable folding Japanese armour
Japanese armour
Armour in Japan has a history that goes back as far as the 4th century. Japanese armour developed enormously over the centuries since its introduction to the battlefield. It was worn to varying degrees by numerous classes; most notably by the Samurai , and was seen on the battlefield both on...
worn during the feudal era of Japan 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 and their foot soldiers ashigaru
Ashigaru
The Japanese ashigaru were foot-soldiers of medieval Japan. The first known reference to ashigaru was in the 1300s, but it was during the Ashikaga Shogunate-Muromachi period that the use of ashigaru became prevalent by various warring factions.-Origins:Attempts were made in Japan by the Emperor...
. The Tatami dou (dō) was a folding type of chest armor (hence its name Tatami, from Tatamu 畳む, "To fold") and ( dō or dou ) which refers to a chest armor.
Structure
A tatami gusoku (complete suit of folding armor) includes a tatami dou (dō) or tatami katabira (jacket) and a tatami kabuto (helmet) chochin kabuto,or tatami zukin (hood) or similar type of tatami head protection along with the other related parts of a full suit of Japanese armourJapanese armour
Armour in Japan has a history that goes back as far as the 4th century. Japanese armour developed enormously over the centuries since its introduction to the battlefield. It was worn to varying degrees by numerous classes; most notably by the Samurai , and was seen on the battlefield both on...
. Collapsible head protection such as hachi gane and other collapsible armors are also tatami armors.
Tatami dou (dō) are lightweight, portable, convenient for transportation, and were manufactured inexpensively and in great numbers for the ashigaru
Ashigaru
The Japanese ashigaru were foot-soldiers of medieval Japan. The first known reference to ashigaru was in the 1300s, but it was during the Ashikaga Shogunate-Muromachi period that the use of ashigaru became prevalent by various warring factions.-Origins:Attempts were made in Japan by the Emperor...
light infantry.Tatami dou (dō) were worn by all samurai classes from the highest class to the lowest class. The higher class samurai wore elaborate tatami dou (dō)while the lower class samurai and retainers wore plain basic tatami-dō.
Ian Bottomley in his book "Arms and Armor of the Samurai: The History of Weaponry in Ancient Japan" shows a karuta tatami do and a karuta tatami kabuto p. 88 and he discusses different types of tatami dou (dō) karuta gane dou (dō) and kikko gane dou (dō) on p. 91 and George Cameron Stone shows a kikko tatami armor in his book "A glossary of the construction, decoration, and use of arms and armor" p. 606.
Types of Tatami-dō
- Karuta tatami dou (dō)Karuta are small lacquered square or rectangular iron (sometimes leather) plates usually connected together by kusari or chainmailChainmailMail is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh.-History:Mail was a highly successful type of armour and was used by nearly every metalworking culture....
and sewn to a cloth backing.
- Kikko tatami dou (dō) Kikko are small iron or leather hexagon plates usually connected together by kusari or chainmailChainmailMail is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh.-History:Mail was a highly successful type of armour and was used by nearly every metalworking culture....
, and sewn to a cloth backing.
- Kusari tatami dou (dō) Kusari is chainmailChainmailMail is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh.-History:Mail was a highly successful type of armour and was used by nearly every metalworking culture....
, the kusari was sewn to a cloth or leather backing.
See also
- Dou (dō)
- Plated mailPlated mailPlated mail is a type of mail with embedded plates. Armour of this type has been used in the Middle East, Japan, China, Korea, Central Asia, Greater Iran, India, Eastern Europe, and by the Moors.-Types of plated mail:In Russia there are three known varieties of this armour...
- BrigandineBrigandineA brigandine is a form of body armour from the Middle Ages. It is a cloth garment, generally canvas or leather, lined with small oblong steel plates riveted to the fabric....
- KikkoKikkoKikko are small iron or hardened leather, hexagon shaped armour plates used in the construction of Japanese armor worn by samurai and ashigaru of feudal Japan.-Description and use:...