Kikko (Japanese Armour)
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are small iron or hardened leather, hexagon shaped armour plates used in the construction of
Japanese armor Scholars agree that Japanese armour first appeared in the 4th century, with the discovery of the cuirass and basic helmets in graves. During the Heian period (794–1185), the unique Japanese samurai armour ''ō-yoroi'' and '' dō-maru'' appeared ...
worn by
samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...
and
ashigaru were peasant infantry employed by the warlords of Japan to supplement the samurai in their armies. The first known reference to ''ashigaru'' was in the 14th century, but it was during the Ashikaga shogunate (Muromachi period) that the use of ' ...
(foot soldiers) of
feudal Japan The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to the Paleolithic, around 38–39,000 years ago. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC whe ...
.


Description and use

''Kikkō'' refers to the shell of the tortoise or turtle which is formed from small hexagon plates. Individual ''kikko'' armour plates were attached to armour by sewing the ''kikko'' to a cloth lining through holes drilled in the center or edges of the ''kikko''. ''Kikko'' could be sewn between two layers of cloth and hidden from sight. The kikko could be attached to each other by links of chainmail holes drilled in the edges of the ''kikko''. Kikko armor was made for every class of samurai or soldier, high or low.
George Cameron Stone George Cameron Stone (August 6, 1859 – November 18, 1935) was a well-known American arms collector and author as well as an American mining engineer and metallurgist. He authored a glossary of the antique weapons of the world that remai ...
referred to kikko as "brigandine" when he said "in Japan, brigandines were often used". He further described this "brigandine" as "small hexagons", "the plates eingof steel or hard leather", and that "occasionally they covered the whole body".


Use

''Kikko'' were used in the construction of traditional Japanese armour,
suneate ''Sangu'' is the term for the three armour components that protected the extremities of the samurai class of feudal Japan. Description Traditional Japanese armour had six main components (''hei-no-rokugu, roku gu, or roku gusoku''), the dou or d ...
(greaves) and ''tate-eri'' (shoulder pads) often incorporated ''kikko'' in their design. ''Haidate'' (thigh guards) and ''kote'' (sleeves) could also be partially or completely armoured with ''kikko''. Lightweight portable folding armour (''kikko tatami gusoku'') would have a ''kikko tatami dōu'' (folding breastplate), and auxiliary armour items such as wakibiki, manchira, and ''manju no wa'' could be armoured with ''kikko''.
Kabuto ' (兜, 冑) is a type of helmet first used by ancient Japanese warriors that, in later periods, became an important part of the traditional Japanese armour worn by the samurai class and their retainers in History of Japan#Medieval Japan (118 ...
(helmets) could have a neck guard (''shikoro'') made with ''kikko'' plates sewn to a cloth backing. Ian Bottomley, in his book titled ''Arms and armor of the samurai: the history of weaponry in ancient Japan'', shows a forehead protector ("hitai ate") with a kikko hood, and calls the kikko chest armor ("kikko gane do") a form of "tatami", or folding armor.Ian Bottomley & A.P. Hopson "Arms and Armor of the Samurai: The History of Weaponry in Ancient Japan" P.88 & p.91


Gallery

File:Kikko jacket.JPG, Edo period kikko katabira (jacket) File:Kikko vest.JPG, Edo period kikko vest File:Tate-eri.JPG, ''Tate-eri'' (shoulder pad), showing ''kikko'' plates lining the neck area File:Kusari and kikko kote.JPG, Kusari (chain mail) and kikko kote (gauntlets) File:Kikko haidate.JPG, Edo period kikko haidate (thigh guards) with iron plates, sewn between two layers of cloth File:Chochin kabuto 10.JPG, Edo period chochin kabuto (collapsible helmet) with kikko shikoro (neck guard) File:Samurai (1).jpg, The second set of armor from the right includes kikko dou and kikko haidate (thigh guards). File:Kikko katabira1.JPG, Edo period kikko katabira and hachi gane with kikko shiroko, hidden between layers of cloth. Note the tatami hitai-ate (collapsible helmet). File:Kikko armor.JPG, Detail of kikko armor File:Kikko armor close up.JPG, Detail of Edo period kikko katabira (jacket), where the kikko (leather or rawhide) can be seen through a hole in the covering cloth File:Kikko armor close up 1.JPG, Detail of Edo period kikko katabira (jacket), where the kikko (leather or rawhide) can be seen through a hole in the covering cloth File:Suneate 1.JPG, ''Suneate'' (greaves) with ''kikko'' on the knee area


See also

*
Tatami (Japanese armour) ''Tatami'' (畳具足), or ''tatami gusoku'' (from 畳む ''tatamu'', "to fold", and ''gusoku'', "full suit of armour"), was a type of lightweight portable folding Japanese armour worn during the feudal era of Japan by the samurai class and ...
*
Brigandine A brigandine (sometimes spelled "brigantine"), also called a brigander, is a form of body armour, in use from the late Middle Ages and up to the early modern era. It is a garment typically made of heavy cloth, canvas, or leather, featuring s ...
*
Chainmail Mail (sometimes spelled maille and, since the 18th century, colloquially referred to as chain mail, chainmail or chain-mail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was in common milita ...
*
Plated mail Mail and plate armour (plated mail, plated chainmail, splinted mail/chainmail) is a type of Mail (armour), mail with embedded plates. Armour of this type has been used in the Middle East, North Africa, Ottoman Empire, Japan, China, Korea, V ...
*
Jack of plate A jack of plate is a type of armour made up of small iron plates sewn between layers of felt and canvas. They were commonly referred to simply as a "jack" (although this could also refer to any outer garment). This type of armour was used by co ...
*
Japanese armour Scholars agree that Japanese armour first appeared in the 4th century, with the discovery of the cuirass and basic helmets in graves. During the Heian period (794–1185), the unique Japanese samurai armour ''ō-yoroi'' and ''dō-maru'' appeared. ...
*
Karuta (Japanese armour) was a type of armour worn by samurai warriors and their retainers during the feudal era of Japan. The word ''karuta'' comes from the Portuguese word meaning "card" (''carta''), as the small square or rectangular plates that compose the armour ...
*
Kusari (Japanese mail armour) ''Kusari katabira'' () is the Japanese term for mail armour. Kusari is a type of armour used by the samurai class and their retainers in feudal Japan. When the word ''kusari'' is used in conjunction with an armoured item, it usually means that ...


References


External links


Anthony Bryant's online Japanese armour manual
{{Types of armour Japanese armour Samurai armour