What was samurai armor made of

Side guards fukigayeshi — These mainly cloth pads helped protect the samurai from spear and sword attacks from mounted opponents. Skirt kusazuri — The armour plating was achieved by interlacing silk and leather with lacquered iron scales. How was Medieval Armor Made. Greek Trireme Warship Facts. Top 10 Most Famous Secret Societies. How was the Florence Cathedral Built.

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Edo is a bustling metropolis of over one million people, living in numerous neighborhoods separated from one another by walls and gates for security and governmental control.

Kanda Hill had been leveled to provide landfill for the reclaimed lands on the bay, known as the Shitamachi downtown area. Even before a runner arrived to relay the news about the American arrival, Tadashi realized that this was an unusual event.

He barks orders to his servants, commanding them to mobilize his retinue of guards. One servant goes with him to assist him in donning his armor, as this is clearly a time to put on a fearsome show. Tadashi mounts his steed, struggling a bit in his armor, as in truth he seldom has cause to ride in armor. With Tadashi mounted, the column quickly gets underway, departing through the front gates of the estate.

Traveling through the length of such a cramped, busy metropolis is no easy feat, any more than traveling by foot the length of Broadway in New York is today. The fish market is jammed with people: fish mongers, porters, cooks, and housewives purchasing the fresh catch from the rich fisheries of Edo Bay. In this part of town, perhaps the faces are not quite as friendly as those are among the wealthy in the shopping district. In truth, over the years many in the lower classes have become unhappy with their military rulers.

Without wars to fight, many in the samurai class had little to occupy themselves with, other than maintaining their social and economic position through taxation. Naturally, this does not always endear them to the masses.

Amongst the throng in the fish market is a tough looking group of men sporting garish tattoos. These men are members of the local fire department. In a city built largely of wood and rice paper, the risk of fire is an ever-present specter. The fire department is 24, strong, split amongst stations at districts around the city.

For the most part, hikeshi firemen are recruited from the lowest classes due to the dangerous nature of the work. The Edo firemen are intensely loyal to one another.

These men are also prone to brawling with rival departments. They affect the hiromono tattoos that are based on art prints ukiyo-e that illustrate popular stories amongst the common people. These vibrant tattoos became popular amongst many in the building trades as well as the machi yakko young toughs who formed street gangs.

These gangs see themselves as the protectors of the downtrodden, and revel in brawling and other activities that flout the social order. They are famous for their street battles with the predatory samurai who cause mayhem amongst the common people.

The machi yakko form organized crime syndicates modeled after family clans who are often the de facto rulers of their neighborhoods.

In such areas even the most powerful samurai normally tread with care. In these many districts, entered through gates set in alleyways off the main streets, families involved in the various commercial trades live and work. To be a true Edokko , one has to be born in the city and have the Edo character: hard working, generous, sophisticated in manners, and enormously proud of being a citizen of the greatest city on earth.

Finally, the entourage arrives at the docks where other samurai had arrived, forming an impressive array. In the Bay, the American warships rest at anchor - two of them belching black smoke - all of them bristling with batteries of cannon. Over the course of the afternoon representatives from the city government and the Shogun Ieyoshi Kayama meet with officers from the flotilla. It is a difficult negotiation.

Perry insists upon meeting with someone of high rank, and speaks to the Japanese through his officers. On the shore, word spreads that he wishes an audience with the Emperor. Tadashi can not believe that a mere foreigner would have the audacity to meet with the Son of Heaven.

Still, the immense power and technology these barbarians possess is obvious for all to see. Tadashi waits on the shore with his fellow samurai, outwardly calm and impassive; but inside, he is in turmoil, wondering what this amazing turn of events might portend…. After delivering his message Commodore Perry departed for China. He returned in February of with a fleet of eight ships to receive the reply.

The Japanese government chose to agree to a limited open door policy with the Americans, allowing limited trade and re-coaling rights for American ships.

With ever-increasing contact with outsiders, the Japanese became aware of both their relative technological backwardness and the weakness of their nation under the Shogunate compared to the barbaric west.

Disenchantment with the Shogunate, combined with the impassioned nationalism of the influential scholar Motoori Norinaga and the rising Fukko Shinto religious sect led to the Meiji Restoration in Under Emperor Meiji, Japan undertook a furious drive towards modernization in order to take its proper place as a world power. The samurai class was stripped of much of its privilege and power was centralized in the hands of a small oligarchy that directed nationalization under the banner of the revered Emperor.

Ironically, the Meiji government harnessed the martial ideology of the samurai as it set out on its quest to make Japan a world power. Japan fought China in for control of the Korean peninsula, defeating the Chinese and establishing its control over both Korea and Taiwan and forcing China to open three ports for Japanese trade.

In Japan attacked and defeated Russia over the rights to construct a Trans-Siberian railway. In Japan formally annexed Korea. Emperor Meiji died in , but Japan continued on its course of Imperialism. During World War I Japan participated as a part of the Allied forces; but increasing conflicts with the west over control of South-east Asia led to conflict.

Japan took control of Manchuria in then attacked China in , seizing control of Beijing and Nanking. Japan then turned its efforts towards challenging the United States for control of the Pacific. World Cultures 2 min read. The samurai were an elite military class of soldiers and officials.

They were retained by feudal lords called daimyo from whose ranks rose many of the leaders, known as Shoguns, who effectively ruled Japan between and Museum reference A. This splendid suit of armour dates from the early 19th century.

By this time, Japan was a relatively peaceful country and armour was worn more for show than for practical reasons. Made from black-lacquered iron plates tied together, the armour was flexible, allowing its wearer to move freely. The armoured skirt, called a kusazuri, shields the thighs, while the arm coverings combine protective chain mail with fine blue silk.

The helmet, or kabuto, with its bristling moustache, was designed to strike fear into the enemy. The samurai warrior typically carried two swords. Different styles were popular at different times, but during the Edo period the long katana sword and shorter companion sword known as a wakizashi were most commonly worn.