O-YOROI SAMURAI ARMOUR

NICHOLAS LEBLANC

3RD YEAR ARCHITECTURE STUDENT

WARRIORS HAVE WORN ARMOUR AS EARLY AS THE FOURTH CENTURY. ARMOUR WAS CREATED TO PROTECT ITS BEARER FROM POTENTIAL DAMAGE FROM WEAPONS INFLICTED DURING COMBAT. O-YOROI IS THE NAME OF ONE OF THE LATER FORMS OF PROTECTION WARN BY JAPANESE SAMURAI WARRIORS BETWEEN THE TENTH AND FIFTEENTH CENTURY.

O-YOROI WERE WARN PRIMARILY BY HIGH RANKING SAMURAI WHO COULD AFORD SUCH PROTECT. THE BOXY SHAPE OF THE ARMOUR WAS NOT IDEAL FOR HAND TO HAND COMBAT BUT PROVIDED GOOD PROTECTION WHEN ON A HORSE (MAINLY FOR MOUNTED ARCHERS). A SET OF ARMOUR SIMILAR TO THE ONE IN THE IMAGE COULD TAKE UP TO AN ENTIRE YEAR TO CONSTRUCT MAKING THE O-YOROI AN EXPENSIVE AND PRIVILEGED OPPORTUNITY FOR A SAMURAI.

THERE ARE SIX COMPONENTS TO A O-YOROI ARMOUR. THE HELMET, FACIAL ARMOUR, CHEST ARMOUR, SLEEVE ARMOUR, SHIN AND THIGH ARMOUR. THE ARMOUR IS CONSTRUCTED OF MANY SCALES OF LEATHER AND IRON, LACED WITH CORD AND LACQUERED TO STRENGTHEN AND PROTECT AGAINST DECAY. COLLECTIVELY, THE ARMOUR CAN WAY UP TO 30 KG. EARLIER FORMS OF ARMOUR INCLUDED LARGE PIECES OF IRON WHICH COULD BECOME VERY HEAVY. O-YOROI ARMOUR COMBINES SCALES OF LEATHER AND IRON TO ALLOW FOR MORE FLEXIBILITY AND PROTECTION.

CONSTRUCTION OF THE O-YOROI WAS AN ART. CRAFTSMANSHIP WAS VERY IMPORTANT DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY OF THE COMPONENTS AND THE DETAILING OF THE LACE. THE COLOUR, DESIGN AND MATERIAL OF THE LACE IDENTIFIED THE CLAN OF A WARRIOR. CLANS ALSO HAD UNIQUE DESIGNS THAT WOULD BE PAINTED ON TH ARMOUR. RANKINGS WERE IDENTIFIED BY LACE. HIGH RANKING SAMURAI ARMOUR WAS LACED TOGETHER TIGHTLY WHILE LOWER RANKS HAD LOOSE ARMOUR.

THE COMBINATION OF AESTHETIC AND TACTILE USE OF O-YOROI SAMURAI ARMOUR IS VERY ELEGANT. IT IS NOT ONLY TO PROTECT THE WARRIOR WHO INHABITS THE ARMOUR BUT ALSO TO ASSURT HIS POSITION WITHIN THE RANKING. HONNOR OF THE CLAN DOES NOT SACRIFICE THE SAFETY OF THE WARRIOR BUT STRENGTHENS THE LINK BETWEEN TWO.