Kusari Gusoku (鎖具足) - Japanese Mail Armor
Kusari Gusoku (鎖具足) - Japanese Mail Armor A samurai deflecting arrows, wearing a typical Japanese Mail armor set (kusari katabira - 鎖帷子 ) an ukiyo-e by T.Yoshitoshi ( 月岡 芳年 ) Japanese Mail armor, or Kusari Gusoku, is a quite complicated topic. Japanese armorers developed the highest number of mail combinations in the world, using different types of rings and patterns for defensive purpose, but also for decoration. In this article I'll try to give you a complete overview on the subject. HISTORY AND USAGE FROM HEAIN TO EDO PERIOD The use of this type of armor is rather " odd" . Although is possible that mail armor (commonly known as "chain mail": rings connected to each others which forms a dense wave similar to cloth ) was know and use since the early Heain period, we lack surviving examples. In the Heike monogatari ( 平家物語 ) we read the term " Kusari haramaki" ( 鎖腹巻 ) which roughly means "mail breastplates" and