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A samurai in his armour in the 1860s. Hand-colored photograph by Felice Beato. Samurai or bushi (武士, [bɯ.ɕi]) were members of the warrior class in Japan.They were most prominent as aristocratic warriors during the country's feudal period from the 12th century to early 17th century, and thereafter as a top class in the social hierarchy of the Edo period until their abolishment in the ...
Luxurious and heavily armed ō-yoroi were worn by senior mounted samurai, while the lighter dō-maru were worn by lower-class infantry samurai. [2] The Japanese cuirass evolved into the more familiar style of armour worn by the samurai known as the dou or dō .
Generally, only daimyo and samurai at the rank of commander wore kabuto ornaments called datemono (立物), which were shaped like a pair of hoes. In the middle of the Muromachi period, as the number of large group battles increased, ordinary samurai wore datemono in the shape of a hoe, the sun, the moon, or their flag on their kabuto to show ...
A samurai wearing an ō-yoroi; two of the large skirt-like kusazuri can be seen—Ō-Yoroi had four kusazuri, unlike other armour of the era, which usually had seven kusazuri. The ō-yoroi (大鎧) is a prominent example of early Japanese armor worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The term ō-yoroi means "great armor". [1]
It is most commonly associated with the Edo period (1603–1868) and samurai, and in recent times with sumo wrestlers. It was originally a method of using hair to hold a samurai kabuto helmet steady atop the head in battle, and became a status symbol among Japanese society. In a traditional Edo-period chonmage, the top of the head is shaved ...
Given the great variety in Japanese armour, sashimono were used to provide a kind of "uniform" to armies. Sashimono typically came in either square or short rectangular forms, although many variations existed. A variation that is often bigger and coloured is the uma-jirushi, which were large, personalized, sashimono-like flags worn by commanders.
Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai” is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. Just as swiftly as Kambei Shimada (Takashi Shimura), the noble samurai leader of the seven, sprints this way ...
Like other samurai, rōnin wore two swords. [8] Rōnin used a variety of other weapons as well. Some rōnin —usually those who lacked money—would carry a bō (staff around 1.5 to 1.8 m (5 to 6 ft)) or jō (smaller staff or walking stick around 0.9 to 1.5 m (3 to 5 ft)) or a yumi (bow).