O-YOROI SAMURAI ARMOUR – BLOG II

NICHOLAS LEBLANC

3rd YEAR ARCHITECTURE STUDENT

ARMOUR IS A NECESSITY TO WAR. EVERY WARRIOR NEEDS A FORM OF PROTECTION TO DEFEND ATTACKS FROM OPPOSING ENEMIES. IT IS EVIDENT THAT JAPANESE ARTISANS HAVE PERFECTED THE ART OF DESIGNING AND CONSRTUCTING SAMURAI ARMOUR. AT FIRST GLANCE, SAMURAI ARMOURS APPEAR TO BE THE DECORATION AND ORNAMENTATION OF WAR. WITH BRIGHT STITCHING PATTERNS AND AN EXAGGERATED HELMET, A O-YOROI ARMOUR RESEMBLES MORE TO CEREMONIAL CLOTHING THAN A FORM OF PROTECTION FOR A HIGH RANKING SAMURAI WARRIOR. WHAT SEEMS TO BE EASTHETICALY PLEASING IS ACTUALLY THE RESULT OF EXCELLENT DESIGN AND ADAPTATION TO WAR. IT IS FAIR TO SAY THAT SHAPE FOLLOWS THE PROGRAM – PROTECTION OF THE WARRIOR.

FOR EXAMPLE, THE STITCHING PATTERNS FOUND ON THE MAIN ELEMENTS OF SAMURAI AMOUR INDICATE THE CLAN AND RANKING OF THAT PARTICULAR WARRIOR. IN COMBAT, THESE STITCHINGS HELP TO IDENTIFY THE WARRIOR AND THEREFORE INDICATES IF THEY ARE FRIEND OR FOE. THIS SIMPLE DETAILING MINIMIZES THE CHANCES OF A SAMURAI KILLING A WARRIOR FROM THE SAME CLAN.IN ADDITION, THE HELMET IS A PROMINENT AND ELABORATE ELEMENT OF THE O-YOROI SAMURAI ARMOUR. THE HELMET CONSISTS OF A CURVED BACK AND A CREST. BOTH ARE USED TO PROTECT THE NECK AND TOP OF HEAD BY DEFLECTING ARROWS AND SWORDS.

WITH A CLOSER LOOK, THE O-YOROI ARMOUR IS A UNIFIED ENTETY OF NUMEROUS ELEMENTS THAT EACH HAVE A SPECIFIC PURPOSE THAT COLLECTIVELY COME TOGETHER TO CREATE AN IMPENETRABLE SKIN. THIS SAMURAI ARMOUR CAN BE SEEN AS AN EARLY FORM OF MINIMALISM. EACH ELEMENT HAS A PROGRAM AND THE FORM ACCOMPLISHES THAT PROGRAM. THERE ARE NO UNNECESSARY DECORATIONS. THE O-YOROI ARMOUR AND MODERN JAPANESE MINIMALIST DESIGN HAVE MANY COMMON LINKS; THE REDUCTION, ARRANGEMENT AND SIMPLICITY OF NECESSARY ELEMENTS. THE NEED FOR ORGANIZATION AND CLARITY IS ALSO PROMINENT.