2nd parts of Japanese armour

บทที่ ๒ :ส่วนของเกราะญี่ปุ่น

โดย แอนโธนีย์ เจ ไบรอัน

 แปลโดย ธนคลัง สินทรัพย์แสน

ส่วนต่างๆ

ส่วนของเกราะ

ส่วนของหมวกเกราะ(Kabuto)

Parts of the kote:

ส่วนของบังไหล่ Sode

ส่วนของเกราะหน้าตัก

ส่วนของสนับแข้ง

Glossary

บรรณานุกรม

อาเกะมากิ(Agemaki) — An ornamental bow used to decorate armour.
อะโกดะ นาริ(Akoda nari) — A helmet shape with a pronounced  bulge in the back. It was a common style.
อาชินางาเระ(Ashinagare) — Literally "wandering legs." This is what you don't want with the plates in your helmet bowl. They should be even and straight.
อาเทะงาเนะ(Ategane) — A pair of reinforcing plates under the visor.
Bishamon gote — A type of kote with integral sode.
Chikara gawa — A strip of leather on the haidate to strengthen the fabric and lend support the armoured section.
Chôgane — Hinge.
Dangly bits — My term for the hanging sections of armour — shikoro, kusazuri, sode, kohire, yodare kake — which are usually designed en suite.
Datemono — Helmet crest (generic term).
Dehaba — The tooth-measurement between scales.
Dô maru — An old-fashioned cuirass of scale construction which wrapped around the body and tied closed under the right arm.
Dô — cuirass.
Egawa — Printed leather.
Eriwa — See guruwa.
Etchû jikoro — Like the hineno jikoro, it was close-fitting, but it was never sleek.
Etchû kabuto — A variation on the "three-plate" helmet style.
Fukigaeshi — Blowback; "wing" or "ear" like device on either side of the shikoro.
Fukurin — Brass or gilt copper edging on kanagu mawari and some other plates.
Fusegumi — A complex locking stitch that attaches the koberi to the egawa. Cheaper armours often just glue down multi-colored braid on the seam.
Gesan jikoro — Shikoro that were divided into sections like kusazuri.
Go-mai dô — A five-sectional armour, with four hinges.
Guruwa — A type of gorget made of standing plates that protect the neck, and a bib.
Gusoku — Suit of armour.
Gusoku shita — Robe worn under armour.
Gyôyô — Small plates on watagami to protect the frogs connecting it to the munaita.
Hachi — Helmet bowl.
Hachiman-za — A virtual synonym of tehen; this is the ornamental fitting around the hole.
Hachitsuke-no-ita — The top lame of a shikoro, the one that attaches to the koshimaki.
Haidate — Thigh guards.
Hakama — Pants.
Hanbô — Literally "half cheek"; a menpô made without a nose.
Happuri — A head protector that guards the forehead and cheeks.
Haraate — See maekake dô.
Haramaki — Any cuirass that opens up the back.
Haribachi — A helmet bowl with flat plates and no ribs or protruding rivets.
Hassô byô — Ornamental rivets that hold kanagu mawari to the armour.
Hassô gane — Large ornamental seat-plate for the hassô byô.
Hibiki-no-ana — Name of the four holes on some multiplate helmets below the shiten-no-byô.
Hijigane — Elbow plate.
Hineno jikoro — An extremely popular modern style shikoro; it was close-fitting and sleek.
Hineno kabuto — A popular "three-plate" helmet style. It is very similar to the etchû kabuto.
Hirazane — A term which came about to differentiate conventional scales from moriage zane.
Hishinui — Crosslaces.
Hishinui-no-ita — Bottom-most plate of a series of dangly bits. So named because it is often ornamented by a double row of crosslaces.
Hitaigane — A metal plate that protects the forehead; usually attached to a headcloth.
Hanbô — Literally "half cheek"; a menpô made without a nose.
Hô ate — See hanbô.
Hyôtan gane — Literally "gourd plate"; a rounded, gourd-shaped plate on kote of the Kaga and Oda schools.
Ichi-no-ita — First plate, the first in a series of lames. Following it are the ni-, san-, yon-, go-, roku-, shichi-no-ita, etc.
Ichimanjû jikoro — A shikoro where the first lame has a bit of a dish to it, and the rest spread down.
Ieji — Foundation fabric.
Ikada — Small plates on kote and suneate.
Ita mono — Armour sections or lames of solid plate rather than scale construction.
Ito odoshi — Ribbon/twill used as lacing.
Iyo zane — Broad scales.
Kabuki dô — See nagagawa dô.
Kabuto — Helmet.
Kanagu mawari — A number of metal plates attached to various parts of the armour. So-called as they were originally the only "solid" metal plates in the armour.
Kanmuri-no-ita — Literally "crown plate"; the top plate(s) on several various parts of armour.
Kasa jikoro — Wide, umbrella-like shikoro style.
Kasajirushi-no-kan — Ornamental and functionless ring on the back of the helmet bowl.
Kattari — The upper bracket to hold a sashimono.
Kawa odoshi — Leather used as lacing.
Kawara — Literally "tile"; a type of scale used in haidate.
Kawari kabuto — Grotesques; elaborately built-up helmets.
Kebiki odoshi — Full lacing.
Kedate — Suspensory lacing between lames.
Kegutsu — Fur boots worn by generals.
Keikô — A protohistoric, scaled cuirass worn c. 6th-8th centuries. It was inspired by continental models and was the forerunner of the ô-yoroi and dô maru.
Kikkô — Literally "tortoise-shell", for the hexagonal pattern; Japanese brigandine.
Kiritsuke zane — Pseudo-scale; a term to identify lames cut (and often built up with lacquer or other material) to imitate scale construction.
Koberi — Edge leather often bordering egawa.
Koboshi — Literally "small star"; small, protruding domed rivets on some helmet bowls.
Kogusoku — Literally "small armour"; refers to the "other" pieces of a suit of armour, namely the kote, sode, suneate, haidate, menpô, and nodowa.
Kohaze — Frog; loop and toggle.
Kohire — Winglets — like small pauldrons, they protect the top of the shoulder. Worn instead of sode.
Komanjû jikoro — A shikoro where all the lames together pronounce a gentle down-and-outward curve.
Koshimaki — Skirtplate; wraps around the hachi. The shikoro attaches to it.
Kote — Armoured sleeve.
Kozakura byô — Literally "small cherry-blossom rivet"; small rivets that ring kanagu mawari when they have egawa applied to them. The purpose of the kozakura byô is to tack down the leather.
Kozane — Scales.
Kusari — Literally "chain"; mail.
Kusazuri — Tassets.
Kyûbi-no-ita — A slender piece of plate armour. It was worn at the front of ô-yoroi to protect the left armpit.
Kôgake — Armoured tabi.
Lame — A board of laced-together scales or solid plate used in armour.
Lamellar — While this term often refers to scale armours, in this monograph the term shall be taken to refer to armours constructed of lames (as opposed to scale).
Mabizashi — Visor. One of several terms.
Maebashi — Visor. One of several terms.
Maedate — Helmet crest when worn in front.
Maekake dô — A dô consisting of only the front. Synonymous with haraate.
Manchira — An upper-torso protector occasionally worn under armour. The name is taken from the Portuguese "mantilla."
Maru dô — A tôsei dô version of the dô maru.
Mempô — Mask; face armour that protects the chin, cheeks, nose, and throat. The nose is often removeable.
Menashi zane — Scales designed for the top row in a series of lames; they have no upper series of holes, and are punched only for suspensory lacing and shitagarami.
Mimi ito — The outermost line of lacing; typically it is a contrasting or patterned color.
Mitsume zane — Scales designed to overlap twice.
Mon — Heraldic badge.
Moriage zane — Scales built up with applications of lacquer to appear thicker and more ostentatious.
Multiplate — A term which refers to the traditional Japanese helmet constructed of any number of roughly pie-wedge-shaped pieces.
Munaita — Breastboard; top plate on the breastplate. Part of the kanagu mawari.
Nagagawa (dô) — The part of the dô that fully encloses the torso; that is, the bottom half as opposed to the tateage. It is a synonym of kabuki dô.
Namazu gane — Old-style hand guard; so named as it is shaped like the head of a catfish (namazu).
Nanban — Literally "Southern barbarian"; the Period Japanese adjective to refer to anything European, such as a nanban dô, a nanban kabuto, or nanban kusari (European-style mail).
Nawame odoshi — The row of diagonal lacing in kebiki odoshi.
Ni-mai dô — A two-sectional ("clamshell") armour, with one hinge.
Nodowa — Gorget that sits flat on the throat.
Ô — Prefix for "large."
Odoshige — Lacing material
Okegawa dô — Common two-sectional clamshell armour of rivetted lame construction.
Oharaidate — Helmet crest holder.
Oshitsuke-no-ita — Top plate attached to a backplate. Part of the kanagu mawari.
Ô-yoroi — Literally "great armour." The old-fashioned, boxy armour.
Ryô-awase dô — An armour of two (or six) sections and no hinges, which is tied closed on both sides.
Sashimono — Banner often worn on the back of armour for identification.
Se-ita — Optional back plate worn with a haramaki. Also called a coward's plate.
Sendan-no-ita — A piece of armour resembling a miniature sode. It was worn at the front of ô-yoroi to protect the right armpit.
Shiki — A strip of metal run behind scale boards to give them strength; laced in place with the shita garami.
Shikoro — Nape guard.
Shino — Splint; long, narrow plates used in kote and sode.
Shinobi-no-o — Helmet cord.
Shita jikoro — Literally "under shikoro"; a (usually brigandined or mail-faced) fabric lining that hangs down inside a kabuto.
Shita garami — Lacing to secure scales horizontally into boards.
Shiten-no-byô — Functionless rivet on the hachi, numbering four in total; paired with a hibiki-no-ana.
Shobugawa — A popular pattern of koberi. It's so popular that koberi is sometimes called shobugawa.
Sode — Shoulder armour.
Sugake odoshi — Sparce-point lacing, in pairs.
Suji — Rib, as in the turned-up edges of a helmet plate.
Suneate — Greaves.
Sômen — Full mask; like a menpô but also protects the forehead.
Tabi — Split-toed socks.
Tachi dô — Literally "standing cuirass"; another name for tôsei dô which refers to their rigidity and ability to stand up unsupported rather than collapse as did older style cuirasses.
Takahimo — Pair of cords used to tie a dô shut.
Tankô — A protohistoric, solid-bodied cuirass worn c. 4th-6th centuries.
Tatami — Literally "folding." Any of a variety of armours or accessories made of small plates sewn to a backing and/or connected by mail, designed to be folded for easy portability.
Tate garami — Older lacing style in which the suspensory braid passing through the next lame ran vertically rather than executing a diagonal. It was replaced by nawame garami.
Tateage — The term for various parts of armour that jut up from others, including the knee guards of suneate and the upper plates on a cuirass.
Tatehagi dô — A cuirass of lames that run vertically.
Tehen-no-kanamono — Ornamental fitting around the tehen.
Tehen — Hole in the top of multiplate helmets.
Tekkô — Hand guard.
Tenpyô gawa — A popular type of egawa in the 16th century. Named for the Tenpyô Era.
Tominaga gote — A type of kote with an extended upper section; the left and right kote might actually meet and close together.
Tôsei — Adjective meaning "modern" (i.e., sixteenth century). Used to delineate various items as in "tôsei gusoku" or "tôsei sode."
Tsubo — Literally "jar." It refers to a style of suneate or kote in which a few plates solidly enclose the limb and protect it.
Ukebari — Lining, be it helmet or cuirass.
Uketsubo — The receiving cup for the base of the sashimono pole.
Wakibiki — Armpit guard worn under armour.
Wakidate — Helmet crest when worn at the side(s).
Wakiita — Part of the kanagu mawari which protects the armpit.
Waraji — Straw sandals.
Watagami — Shoulder strap, part of the kanagu mawari.
Yodare kake — Literally "dribble hang"; the bib of lames that protects the neck and throat.
Yokohagi dô — A cuirass constructed of lames that run horizontally.
Yoroi — Armour; old term. Generally used to refer to older armours.
Yoroi Hitatare — Battle robe worn under armour by the wealthy and influential.
Yoshitsune gote — A type of kote so named because the great Minamoto no Yoshitsune wore kote like them. (As did everyone else before 1300.)
Yotsume zane — Scales designed for the top row in a series of lames; they are flat, with all the holes punched.
Yurugi ito — Lacing that suspends the kusazuri from the dô.
Za kanamono — Grommets.
Zunari — Literally "head-shaped"; a type of helmet style including the so-called three-plate hineno kabuto.

18th Chests

Chapter Eighteen:
Armour Stands and Chests

      Despite what you may see in photographs from some museum exhibits, Japanese armour is not displayed on a full-body, mannequin-like stand. Armour is displayed on a demi-stand, which is usually placed on the armour’s storage chest.
      The arm armour is tied to the stand or fastened to the watagami (whichever is appropriate); the haidate are tied around the top of the chest; the dô is put on the stand; the face armour is fastened on; kabuto are seated on the top; and finally the suneate are put in front of the chest. The impression one gets is of a fully armoured warrior sitting on the chest.
      There are also stands for just the helmet, to allow only it to be shown.
      I am assuming you will have some access to woodworking equipment, but you needn’t have the facilities of Norm Abrams at your disposal. Roy Underhill is perfectly fine...

Making an Armour Stand

The Real McCoy

      The armour stand — or gusoku kake — is a fairly important item if you don’t want all your work to live in a box or armour bag when you’re not wearing it. There are more baroque models, but in the interest of your time and simplicity I will provide one that is relatively easy to make and could even be collapsible if you don’t use glue.
      You don’t need nails or screws, but you will need a drill, a saw, a hammer, and a chisel. A router or a table saw are also useful, but not necessary.
      You will need 50” of 2 x 4, 56 1/2” of 2 x 2, 9” of 1 x 1, and a 5“-diameter disk of 1 x 12. Any wood is acceptable, but pine is probably most readily available.
      From the pattern and the illustration of the completed stand, it should be readily apparent as to the actual construction. To do the mortises and tenons, cut the ends down to 1” square. Open holes with a 1” diameter drillbit and use a chisel to square off the holes. You may glue the stand together (after assuring a clean fit of the pieces), or you may leave the glue out in the hopes it may break down and be reassembled over and over. I personally wouldn’t do this.
      An alternative but inaccurate construction method is to eliminate the mortises and tenons entirely and use long screws (pre drill those holes!) to secure the uprights to the shoulder board and base to hold it all together.
      When you are satisfied with your stand, you can either stain it, seal it, or leave it a natural wood and let it develop a natural patina of age.

A Portable Model

      The portable armour stand is of questionable origin, but it’s what is supplied by some shops in Japan today if you buy a suit of armour from them.
      It is a fairly easy item to make. The advantange with this model is that it breaks down and can be stored relatively flat in the armour chest for transport.
      The stand is made entirely 3/8” plywood.
      Simply transfer the pattern to your plywood and cut the pieces out. All the slots are wide enough to accomodate the plywood, of course. Sand or plane rounded the edges of the panels to avoid damaging the armour.
      Note the method of assembly shown in the finished diagram at left.
      While you can leave it natural wood, painting it black is a better choice. To make appearances better, I’d recommend draping the stand with a large, thin cloth before putting the armour on it.

Making a Kabuto Stand

The Real McCoy

The helmet stand — or kabuto kake — is very similar to the armour stand. In fact, it’s just slightly modified version of the top section with an abbreviated foot assembly.       When you place a kabuto on this stand, the single bar goes to the rear (as a shikoro support if necessary). The helmet cords go behind the horizontal bar, and back up (through the bottom slot) on the inside (as per the diagram) and then back to the front, where the cords are tied in an agemaki or a bow knot.       If you are putting a menpô on this stand as well, turn it around so that the single horizontal bar is in front; this holds the “nose” of the menpô. Place the menpô with the head cord over the top of the stand, and put the kabuto on the stand to hold it in place. Instead of tying the cords to the horizontal bars, you will tie the cords to the menpô in the same way you would if you were wearing them.

A Portable Model

Like the portable armour stand, the portable helmet stand, construct this portable helmet stand of 38" plywood. Leave the stand natural wood, or paint it a neutral black.       When displaying a helmet with such a stand, it is common to cover the stand with a good-sized cloth and then put the helmet on. (Presentation is everything.) The helmet cords are just tied in a knot and hang in front.       If you are displaying a menpô as well, put the menpô on first with the headcords over the top, then place the kabuto to hold the menpô down. Tie the helmet cords as if you were wearing the menpô.

An Armour Chest

      There are several different kinds of armour chest, or gusoku bitsu. I am providing instructions for a reasonable facsimile of the most typical model for modern armours.
      A more orrnate chest called a kara bitsu also existed, but it was primarily used for older, more expensive armours belonging to the more aristocratic and wealthy samurai. Smaller versions were also used to store (and display) particularly fine kabuto. Temping as it is to go into its construction, I must give its construction a pass. A typical one is, however, illustrated at left.
      To make the gusoku bitsu, you will need 1/4" plywood, some rope, and several fastenings you will have to construct of brass or some other metal, and a few feet of rope. The only tools you will need are a hammer a jigsaw, and a drill.
      The sides of the gusoku bitsu are actually two layers of plywood. Since the lid fits flush over the edges, you need an internal lip. This is formed by the layering process. The base and lid are forrmed from single layers of plywood.
      Start by cutting out your side pieces and checking them for size and fit. The outer side panels measure 17 3/4" tall by 17 1/4" wide. The inner side panels measure 20 3/4" tall by 16 3/4" wide.
      Take each outer side and inner side piece and glue them together with the sturdiest marine-grade wood glue you can find, butting the bottoms flat.The outer side overlaps the inner by 14" on each side, and the inner side has a lip extending 3".
      While the glue is drying, cut the four panels for the lid. They are 17 1/2" by 3 3/4". Also cut the top and bottom panels. These are both squares 17 1/2" to the side.
      Glue the lid’s side panels together and to the top panel, using the top panel to square-up the lid. If you have clamps that can maintain the square, clamp it and let it dry.
      Do the same with the body of the chest. Turn it upside down (lip down) as you glue, so that you can put the bottom panel in place. Square the sides up, clamp it, and let it dry.
      When dry, try the lid on for fit. You may have to file or sand down the lip a bit to make the fit easier.
      Choose which side you want to be the front of the chest. This done, on the left and right side panels, measure down 5" from the top of the lip and make a horizontal line. Now measure in 6 1/4" from either edge on this line. Drill a 1/2" hole completely through the sides at these two points. These holes will take the rope handles that will enable you to carry the chest.
      Now, using small finishing nails, secure the base firmly to the body. You can also put a few small nails in the edges (and set them!) if you don’t trust glue. Don’t put any nails within 3” of any corner.
      The last step before you lacquer the box is to fill all the pits, nail heads, or imperfections in the plywood with wood putty. When it’s dry, sand it nice and smooth.
      Lacquer your chest. Black is the most common color.
      You will now have to put on your metal fittings. These help hold everything together. You can probably find similar pieces in any furniture store, but you can also make them from metal (though you might have to do some welding for the corner pieces.
      You will need eight corner pieces, and eight straps. Cut them from 16-gauge brass. Bend the straps to a 90° angle for the edges. The corners need compound folds as illustrated. You will need to weld the loose edges.
      Nail the corners on each corner of the box, top and bottom, with 12 tacks. The edges get four tacks each (two per face). The edges go on the bottom part of the lid, and the top part of the box where it meets the lid (as shown in the illustration).
      Knot your rope and pass it through one hole in the side, then back through the other hole and knot it inside. Repeat this for the other side. This will enable you to carry the chest. The rope should be long enough to stick up over the lid of the chest.
      If you want to be really fancy, you can make metal brackets instead of using rope handles.
      The chest is carried either by grasping the ropes or by passing a pole through them and carrying it over your shoulder.
      The finishing detail is to paint your mon (in gold, why not?) on the front of the chest. In a classically understated way that I am sure says something about Japanese society, some chests just have an ornate cursive-painted character “mae” (“front“) as the decorative element.

Packing Your Armour

      Believe it or not, there is an “official” way to pack your armour into the gusoku bitsu.
      The correct way — assuming you have a clamshell armour with a removable side hinge — is to first remove the hinge.
      You then place the breast plate inside the back plate.
      If your amour doesn’t separate, open it and lay the parts in it as described below. When finished, fold the kusazuri over the contents, close the dô, and fold the rest of the kusazuri down.
      Into this cavity, place the kote, which you folded in half at the elbow.
      Then take your haidate, fold them in half left over right (plates out), and again in half so the fabric upper is on one side, the plates on the other. The fabric section goes against the kote.
      Then place in your suneate, flat, one on top of the other, fabric side against the haidate.
      All this means is fabric on plate, so you don’t have two pieces of plate rubbing against each other.
      The last step is to fold all the kusazuri up into the body of the dô to hold everything in place. Stand the armour in the chest.
      Place your face armour nose-first into the lining of the kabuto bowl, and then put the kabuto on top of the dô, resting on the watagami. If you have enough room, you can alternatively slide the kabuto between the cavity of the dôand the wall of the chest, with the shikoro on the wall side. Any armour robes can be put on top, and the lid dropped into place.

17th Gears up!

Chapter Seventeen:
Putting It On

      The convention is that one puts on arrmour from the bottom up, left to right. The exception is that armoured foot gear — as opposed to normal straw sandals — must be donned after the suneate are on.
      This means that once you’ve put on your under-armour togs, you start with your suneate. If you are insane enough to have a pair of kôgake, put them on as well. I would recommend kegutsu for combat, however. Just because.
      Next comes the haidate, with the support cord if you don’t have a frog on the dô to help hold it up.
      If your kote are the type that attach to your watagami with frogs, don’t put them on yet. If, however, your kote are the type that tie across your body or attach to each other, put them on now.
      If you wear any under-armour, such as a manchira or wakibiki, put them on.
      The dô is next. Fasten your armour!
      If your kote secure to the watagami with frogs, put them on now.
      If you don’t wear sode, you can skip to the next paragraph. If you do wear sode and went with the single-pair-of-frogs-on-the-watagami option (described in the chapter “Making a Dô”), you have to slip the kote frogs through the loop in the sode frogs before putting the kote on; then you fasten the kote frogs to the watagami. Otherwise, with the double-pair-of-frogs-on-the-watagami option, you just fasten the sode’s frogs to the watagami normally.
      Put on your neck armour. (If your neck armour lies flat, you may want to put it on before the dô in the interests of comfort. This is an option for you.)
      Put on your face armour if you wear it.
      The last key bit of armour is your kabuto. Put it on and tie the cords tightly, securing your face armour in place and leaving no jiggle with the helmet.
      If you want, you can also wear a sashimono, although I don’t think most marshalls will be very accepting of them on the field. Nonetheless, many people have fought with them, using fiberglass rods (like bicycle flag poles) as the bannerpole and attaching 1 1/4" diameter wooden balls at the end to make sure they don’t get into eyeslots.
      Take your uwa obi (a sash about 6" by 10') and wrap it around your waist several times and tie it in front, tucking any ends back under the wrapped sash. It is through this that you will thrust your wakizashi, tantô, fan, katana,etc. Traditionally, uwa obi are white. In the SCA, that might cause you some problems unless you’re one of those entitled to wear white things around your waist. You can also use black, but I recommend a neutral beige as a decent compromise.
      You’re now dressed. Go on, take the field, and show the barbarians a thing or two!

:

16th Underneath it

Chapter Sixteen:
Underneath It All

      The days when warriors wore heavy, ornate robes under their armour were all but gone by the latter half of the sixteenth century. To be sure, some still went in for opulence and conspicuous consumption. Those who did were the more powerful daimyô, the wealthier and aristocratic lords, those with names, reputations, and a certain sense of ostentation. The rest had more simple armour clothing, while the lowest ranking samurai just made do wearing their day-to-day clothing under their armour.
      I will admit up front that the patterns here are not historically exact. I going to provide all the details of how to sew here, either — this is for combat grungies, something to be worn and sweated in. Here are shortcuts suitable for wear in SCA combat. If you want actual patterns for these clothes, look to my sister site on Japanese clothing, where patterns will soon be making an appearance.

Yoroi Hitatare

      Those of considerable rank (generals and so on) wore a yoroi hitatare, which was a type of combination hakama and over-robe, over their kimono. The hitatare itself is the robe, which is remarkably easy to make.

Hitatare

      Devide your waist measurement by two and take the width of your shoulders (from point to point). Whichever number is larger is the one you will use for the body-width of the hitatare.
      Cut your fabric to this width and to a length that will allow the bottom of the body to just cover your buttocks. (Dont’t forget to add a hem and seam allowance!) This is the back panel. Technically, the back was made of two panels — a left and right — with a vertical seam up the spine, and the front panels were continuations of the back. This was due to the fact that Japanese looms were about 18" in width. At any rate, divide the width by three, and cut two panels to that width and the back’s length plus 4". Sew the front panels to the back panel (right sides together!) so it forms a sort of sideless tabard with the middle-front section missing.
      Put the body on, hold out one arm, and with a measuring tape get the length from your knuckles to the edge of the fabric jutting out over your shoulder. (If you’re of average size, it should be somewhere around 18" – 20", give or take).
      Cut two sleeves to that length, with a width equal to two-thirds the height of the back panel. While some sleeves were straight (as the photograph above shows), typically the sleeves were tapered to cut down on bulk under the kote. (Of course, extra bulk from fabric translated to extra padding.) Taper the sleeve slightly — something like a ratio of 4:1 — so that the wrist is opening is narrower.
      Before sewing the sleeves up, pin them to the body at the shoulder and sew them to the body but only for half their length. The bottom of the sleeve hangs free. Hem the rest of the sleeve where it normally would be sewn to the body. In fact, you will now hem the entire body (except for the opening up the middle front. The thing with the hitatare is, it’s totally open at the sides. It’s like a tabard with sleeves.
      Now sew the sleeves closed along the bottom only. Turn the last inch at the wrist under and sew up the end-seam, making a tube. You will want a wide hem here, perhaps 1/2", as you will insert a cord through it to tie the sleeve closed.
      Turn everything right-side out.
      The last step is making the collar, which runs up one side at the front and around the neck and back down. This is easily made from a 6"-wide strip of fabric cut as long as it needs to be (piece strips together if necessary) to cover the distance. Fold and press the strip into fourths to give it body. Pin it in place, sew it down, and remove the pins.
      Cut a small hole at the bottom of each wrist hem and sew buttonhole stitch around them. Insert in each a cord long enough to completely encircle the hem and dangle for about 6" on either end. Knot the strings. The proper hitatare had loops of fabric sewn around the sleeve opening (similar to belt loops around the waist of one’s pants) through which the cinch-cord passed, but this is a fighting outfit that you want to get done and get on. Again, a real pattern will soon appear on the garb site.

Hakama

      For the hakama, cut two panels of cloth 46" wide by the distance from your navel to your ankle. (If you want to make a more ostentatious hakama here, feel free to use any width up to 60", but no more than 80" — if you have extra girth, you might want to start with 60" widths and consider going up toward 80".) These will be your legs. These measurements will suffice if your waist is up to 45" or so. If more, you will probably want to make the pattern larger. I am a “deluxe-economy sized” person, and this size actually works for me, but only marginally.
      Cut to the pattern provided. Note that the crotch is almost — but not quite — halfway down the hakama. The side slit is on almost the same level. Keep these distances in mind if you alter the proportions of the pattern. Many realhakama for armour wear were made crotchless (or, rather, with overlapping crotch panels) to make them more convenient. Feel free to modify the pattern if you wish.
      Fold the outer corners to the inside and sew in place as shown in the pattern. Turn the legs inside out and sew up the outside seam, forming long tubes. Turn up the bottom hem leaving the same allowance you did for the sleeve opening, since you’ll have a cord here, too.
      Put the gusset in place and sew, then sew the legs together at the crotch, going over the seam again and again.
      Here’s another place where your waist measurements come into play. You want the front width to be able to cover your front. Typical hakama are about 14" wide in front and 12" in back. Mine are 16" and 14". Oh, while you’re at it, cut the top of the front down about 1" —  it’s shorter than the back.
      The folds you make down the length of the hakama take up the excess to leave you with the measurement you need at the top. The folds should be even, and butt against the center front. Note that medieval hakama cut to this pattern don’t fold like modern martial arts hakama , so expect them to look different. Pin as you fold, and iron the folds down.
      Cut several strips of 6"- wide fabric. These will form your ties. You will need two lengths. The front tie is three times your waist, plus about 20". The back tie is equal to your waist measurement plus whatever excess is needed to tie the thing closed with the knot in front. In the same manner as you made the hitatare collar, fold the strips into fourths. Find the center of the ties, pin them centered on their appropriate top panel (front or rear), and sew them all the way along and closed.
      The last step is to put the cord through the ankle hem with a hole and button-hole stitch, with the cord emerging inside the ankle. Tie the cord off in a knot.
      When you put the garment on, first put on your kosode. Then put on the hitatare. Step into the hakama, and tie the front closed (the knot is in the small of your back). Then you pull up the back, using that knot to hold the back up (that is, the rear tie sits above it, which is what provides that small “bumroll” look on hakama) wrap the tie around you, and tie a nice knot in front.
      Pull the cords at your ankles and wrists tight, wrap them around your limbs until only an inch or so remains, and tuck the last bit under the wrapped cord. You can now put on your suneate and kote.

Gusoku Shita

      The more typical samurai wore instead a form of kimono called a gusoku shita (lit. “under the armour”) or a shitagi (lit. “under [thing to] wear”), which was the only item of Japanese garb to typically have a button. The button is at the collar, to keep it closed.
      They also wore hakama, but usually a tighter fitting variety (looking something like modern judo gi pants).
      The gusoku shita is worn over your juban, or “underwear kimono.” As such, it doesn’t have to be full length. In fact, it’s not. It only comes down far enough to cover your buttocks and crotch, or perhaps to mid-calf.
      Note from the photo that it has its own waist tie, too.
      I will not go into how to create a kimono or a gusoku shita, as patterns for these are readily available. The variation between the two garments is readily apparent if one looks closely at the illustration of a gusoku shita, so altering any existing pattern should be easy enough.
      If you’ve had experience making kosode or kimono, you should have no trouble making a gusoku shita.

15th Other&Under armour

บทที่ ๑๕:
Miscellaneous Armour

       The armour in this chapter is neither required nor standard; however, they are occasionally useful, and possibly interesting, items. In SCA combat, the use of some of them may even have definite advantages.

Manchira

The term “manchira” comes from the Portuguese “mantilla.” It is a sort of upper-torso wrap-around that can be padded, brigandined, or covered with mail. The manchira may be worn under the dô, but is not required. I personally like them for SCA fighting, as it’s just a little bit of padding as the dô itself has none.        The pattern is almost stupidly simple. The manchira is a single piece of fabric (well, two if you attach a standing collar). The foundation is, as usual, in three layers, only with an additional layer or so of batting (if you want padding) placed in strategic places. If you actually brigandine the cloth, the padding is probably unnecessary.        As you did with the haidate, lay out all the layers of fabric, pin them together, and cut all at once. Remember that there is no seam allowance as the fabric’s edges are entirely enclosed in bias tape. If you’re brigandining any part of the manchira, do it according to the instructions in the chapter “Before Beginning.” If not, just put the pieces together and run a long strip of bias tape all along the edges, closing it up. Attach four sets of frogs as shown in the diagram. You’re done!

Wakibiki

These separate armpit guards are made of cloth foundations that are covered in mail, small plates, kikkô, etc. They can also be made so that the top inch or two is a metal plate, and the rest is cloth. I’ve even seen a few odd ones made of lames laced with sugake odoshi. Most wakibiki were made with short cords that just fit over the shoulder, and relied as much on this cord as the pressure of the dô against the wearer to keep them in place. Others had longer ties that allowed them to be tied on the opposite side of the neck.       Since the purpose is to protect the area just below the armpit, a part usually slightly exposed given the shape and fit of the dô, you might want to sandwitch some heavy leather under the cloth.        Cut to the shape in the illustration above in whatever medium you want and finish it to suit your tastes. Knot two cords, one in either upper edge of the wakibiki.        Note that you can only use the “far side of the neck” ties this someone else ties the knot. I’ve still not met anyone limber enough to do it by himself. You can alternately make a long loop with each end tied in the holes; you’ll have to raise your arm straight up and slide the wakibiki and cord down around your head. It is worn as close up under the armpit as is comfortable.        If you wear manchira and wakibiki (unusual overkill), the wakibiki are under the manchira. You really shouldn’t wear both, however.

Kôgake

      Kôgake are armoured tabi. These are not for SCA fighting, believe me. I can’t imagine walking in them, even. I’m not giving you a pattern, as I don’t want to be on the receiving end of a lawsuit from your podiatrist.
       The plates are stitched to a deerskin foundation and may either come with a slightly heavier leather sole and worn as a slipper, or may just be a metal surface worn on top of the foot. The backs are left open to tie closed on the foot.Waraji — straw sandals — are worn over the kôgake as if they were normal tabi.
       I’ve seen one peculiar version that actually was tabi, albeit tabi coated in mail and sprinkled with small metal plates. That version is shown below.

Kegutsu

       Okay, these really aren’t armour, but when you fight they might be useful. Kegutsu are “fur boots.” Usually they were bearskin. This the one thing you can do to dress up your combat footgear, too, making them look like they fit the rest of the picture.
       True kegutsu are slipper-like, and easy to construct. If you want to have traction and toe protection, however, you’ll need serious cobbling skills, or some good glue and an awl and heavy linen threads. Why glue? Because you will be gluing fur (fake, if you want) to the tops, sides, and back of your ankle boots, and sewing a printed leather riser to the sides. If you can get the awl in there, sew around the bottom of the fur section to permanently secure it to the leather boot.

14th Suneate

บทที่ ๑๔
The Suneate

Design

Suneate Body

      The earliest suneate were three-plate greaves with no protection for the knee. In around the twelfth century, kneeguards started to appear. These kneeguards, like the suneate themselves, were of steel or solidly lacquered leather. Later they came to be made of brigandine.
      The body of the suneate originally was leg-fitting plates, but those of the sixteenth century were either fitted plates, a style called tsubo (“tube”) suneate, or splinted (shino suneate) like those used on the foreams of kote. Small sections of mail were often used to span the spaces between shino.
      The plates or splints on the inside of the leg are only half length; the lower half, where the ankle would rub on the stirrup straps, was faced with a leather panel to prevent abrasion of those straps.
      One ties the suneate to one’s shins by means of a pair of cords, one at the ankle and one under the knee.

Tateage

      The kneeguards — called tateage — were low, just tall enough to cover the patella, although there are surviving examples with hugely exaggerated extensions that covered half the thigh — a rider’s armour. By the sixteenth century, they were a more respectable and wieldy height.
      Tateage were of two types: plate and fabric. The fabric models were kikkô, but more than one surviving model is fabric overlaid with European-style mail. The metal panels are of course better for SCA combat use, but even then I recommend some knee pads be worn under the armour clothing.
      Fabric tateage were formed either from a single, wide panel of kikkô, or it was divided into three panels. For SCA use, I recommend three panels for the same reason that Sakakibara Kôzan did: one panel may jut open when the leg is bent, while three panels should hold closer to the leg. Still, kikkô isn’t really the best protection for your knees, no matter how spiff it may look. If you use kikkô, wear solid knee armour under your armour clothing.
      The cheapest suneate had no tateage — these were made in the hundreds for the lowly ashigaru.

Construction

Measurements

      The tateage should come to about an inch above your knee when you stand straight. You will need to wear padding or solid armour under it if you use kikkô. The body of the suneate should extend from just under your kneecap to the curve at the top of your foot (or, the curve at the top of whatever footgear you fight in). In the case of shino suneate, the armourer would sometimes go so far as to put a hinge on the central plate about an inch from the bottom to facilitate comfortable walking. This shouldn’t be necessary, but it’s a nice option to know about.

Plates

      Use 18-gauge steel for the plates in your suneate. There’s no need to go any higher, but you may want to think about 16 or even 14 gauge if you are making very narrow splints and fight people who frequently hit low. You shouldn’t have to worry about shin-shots, generally, but just to be on the safe side…
      The protective metal shell or splints should wrap half to three-quarters the way around your shin. When you cut the plates or shino, keep that in mind. You can, if you wish, cut broader shino, or add to their number. I have seensuneate of anything from five broad splints up to 13 narrower ones. (That there will be an odd number goes without saying.)

Fabric

The fabric should be en suite with the kote and haidate. Make the fabric base to conform to the specifications in the chapter “Before Beginning.”       Cut the fabric wide enough so that, wearing whatever leg gear or armour pants you plan to wear, the edges overlap slightly in back. The height is from the top of your foot to the bottom of the patella.       Cut the tateage panels and do the brigandine work. If you are making tsubo suneate with a solid metal tateage, do not brigandine the cloth; you will still need the fabric section tateage to line the metal tateage, however. After the tateage panels are cut (and brigandined if appropriate), rim them with bias tape.       Lay down the backing fabric of the suneate, right-side up. Lay the tateage panel down on the backing material, face up, with the bottom edge of the panel even with the edge of the fabric. Lay the lining and then the foundation fabric on this, right-side down. Sew it all together 1/4" from the end. Flip the fabric over so that the panel extends from the top of thesuneate body.       The illustration at left shows an rough approximation of a cutaway of one of the suneate. The side with the legend is the inside (the pale purple representing the lining fabric) while the other side is the outside (with the thick black line representing one of the plates).       Cut a panel of thin leather — about 4 oz. — that corresponds to the shape of the inside ankle section. It should be about one-third the width of the fabric, enough to cover the inside ankle when the fabric is wrapped around the shin. This leather is usually dark brown, black, or printed leather, although I’ve even seen leather panels covered in gold leaf. Stitch the panel in place before applying the bias tape to edge the suneate.       The bias tape can either encircle the entire suneate, in which case the tape begins at one side of the body of the suneate where the tateage panel fits in, or it can encircle the sides and bottom, leaving the top with the simple sewn closure it already has.

Cords

Six small loops of fabric — one on the outer-most plate at either side at the ankle and the inside of the knee, and two at the center of the suneate at the same horizontal levels — provide the run-throughs for the fabric braid that are used to tie the suneate to your leg. Alternately, you can dispense with the loops with and just stitch the braid right to the plate at those locations with simple, small cross-laces. This makes the cords permanent, so that they won’t come off and you can’t lose them. A good deal, in my opinion.       The cords should be long enough to wrap around your leg (at the ankle and under your knees) twice, and tie in front with a bow knot.

Shino suneate

      The shino (or splint) suneate is the most common type, and there are many variations. The tateage are almost invariably kikkô.
      The shino are formed in a similar manner to those of the kote (q.v.). They are also attached the same way — namely by being stitched to the underlying fabric, and interspersed with sections of mail. You can give them a slight overlap (from the middle out) and attach the splints one to the other with a series of cross-laces instead, if you prefer. In this case, you’d have to use more or wider splints. This is possibly a better defensive armour than conventionally spaced shino suneate.
      Note that the pattern for the shino on the left and right side of the suneate are identical, except you will have to cut all the shino on the inside the leg short (follow the dotted line in the pattern for the inner-side cuts). This is to allow the leather panel to cover the inner ankle instead of metal plates.
      When all the shino have been cut, punched, formed, and painted, apply any mail panels you will use, or lace the shino together if it is your preferred style. Attach your tying cords or cord loops to the shino. Only now will you stitch the shino to the fabric, in the same manner you stitched the plates and mail to the kote.
      Admire your handiwork. Put them on. Dance around.

Tsubo suneate

      Tsubo suneate are tighter, form-fitting suneate made of three slightly overlapping plates. Steel tateage are used only with tsubo suneate, although kikkô may be used as well.
      Cut the plates to the pattern provided, and punch or drill all the marked holes. Note that, like the shino suneate, the pattern for the inside leg is a mirror of the outside leg, although you have to cut it at the dotted line. Dish the plates to fit your calves, keeping left and right in order. The central plate often has a ventral ridge, which you may wish to make, or you can leave it a smooth curve.
      After you have dished all the plates, paint them or have them powder-coated. When dried, lace them together with a series of cross-laces with the central plate overlapping both the side plates. Small hinges were sometimes used instead, but in the case of tsubo suneate laces were more common.
      Attach the tying cords either by lacing them directly to the plates, or by attaching loops to guide the lacing. Put the half-tube aside and move on to the tateage.
      If you’re making steel tateage, cut the plates to the pattern given. Dish them appropriately, putting a lip on the bottom edge (as per the illustration). The bottoms should be curved but flat in profile to fit behind the tops of the “tube” as they are laced into the suneate body.
      You must make the foundation fabric for a tsubo suneate in a slightly different pattern. The bottom is more or less the same, but it follows the line of the plates, and instead of being cut straight to allow for the addition of a panel of brigandine tateage, the top forms the outline of the solid plate tateage, as it lines the whole suneate. This is assuming you are going to make a solid tateage. If you’re going with kikkô tateage, make the kikkô tateage according to the pattern above and attach them to the fabric base of the suneate as if you were going to make a shino suneate.
      If you’re making a solid tateage, take the foundation fabric and force it into the half-tube that is the suneate body. Using an awl, open holes in the base fabric where the crosslaces go to attach thetateage to the suneate proper. This is your first step; lacing the foundation fabric to the tateage and the tateage to the suneate body all in one action. If you’re using kikkô, you still use the cross-laces here to attach the top of the fabric to the suneate tube.
      Next, you should start at the bottom and with a series of thread or braid knots tie the fabric lining to the suneate, up one side (and along the top of the tateage if you’re using a solid one) and back down the other side. You should have several inches of the fabric sticking out at the back at either side, as it still wraps the leg as would a shino suneate.
      You’re finished. Try them on.

Suneate Gallery

       The following graphics link to larger images (some are very large) which will pop up in a separate window so you can look at several suneate.

Suneate with wide splints joined by mail, and matching sectioned tateage. Edo period.

Suneate of broad splints and brigandine tateage. Edo period.

Suneate of splints all around (no cutoff for the inner ankle) and padded cloth tateage). Edo period.

Suneate of splint construction with sectional brigandine tateage. Edo period.

Simple, typical shino suneate. This is a classic model.

Tsubo suneate with solid tateage.

The remains of a pair of tsubo suneate with the kikkô tateage lost.

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