Manchira (満智羅) - Japanese Auxiliary Armor
Manchira ( 満智羅 ) - Japanese Auxiliary Armor A section taken by the 島原の乱図屏風 showing a warrior wearing a manchira. Today I want to talk with a brief article of one of the most important, and yet overlooked, Japanese armor piece found on late Japanese armor usually referred as tōsei gusoku ( 当世具足 ). The manchira (which can also be written 満智羅, 満散,満乳羅 or 摩牟知羅 ) , also known as manjūwa ( 饅頭輪 ), mantōwa ( 満頭輪 ) or kataōi ( 肩被 ) is essentially an armored vest that was used either as a standalone armor or as a form of chest protector to be worn under or over the main breastplate, the d ō ( 胴 ). A sketch made by me showing cuirass plus manchira configuration. For those who are familiar with European armor, this item functioned both as a form of arming doublets with integrated voiders or as a form of "mail" shirt. As I've written in my detailed analysis of tōsei gusoku ( 当世具足 ) armor, this piece of equipment was actually used to cover the g...