There are numerous types of samurai armor with vast variations however for the purpose of this article we’ll go over the four most well known; Lamellar Armor, Tameshi Gusoku, Tatami Gusoku, and Okashi Gusoku.

Lamellar armor(Kozane armor)

Lamellar armor is a samurai armor which dates all the way back to the 4th century. At that time, the armor only consisted of Dou and the helmet.

These were made from leather or iron plates. The pieces were held together with metal strips or lacquer.

At the end of the 4th century, armor manufacturers also started using silk lace in order to hold them in place.

Pros:

• Comparatively light weight
• Provided good protection to the upper torso

Cons:

• Ineffective against Firearms
• Left the lower half of the body exposed

Tameshi Gusoku

In the 16th century trade between Europe and Japan led to the import and influence of new types of armor. Among these new influences were the introduction of bullet resistant armor to protect the samurai against modern weapons of the time such as guns.

This new armor was made from iron and steel plates allowing the samurai warriors to have protection from bullets.

Pros:

• Protection against firearms
• Covered the entire body

Cons:

• Comparatively heavier

Tatami Gusoku

The previous two armor types, though were effective in their time, they did have some setbacks; one of which was the weight and lack of flexibility. Since these armor types were stiff and the lacked the ability to fold and be packed away for transportation a need for a ‘foldable’ armor was developed.

During the feudal era, this need of portability was fulfilled by the Tatami Gusoku which was foldable and hence could be carried around easily when not in use. The tatami gusoku was worn by all classes of samurai ranging from upper class to lower class.

Pros:

• Portable
• Lightweight
• Full body armor

Cons:

• Lesser protection than the Tameshi Gusoku

Okashi Gusoku

The samurai armor often changed according to the rank of the soldier. Okashi Gusoku was basic armor for the soldiers with a lower rank. This specifically consisted of Dou which was enlarged to cover the upper part of the lower body. These were mass produced and often had the inventory numbers painted on front of them.

Pros:

• Lightweight
• Easy to mass produce

Cons:

• Provided only basic protection
• No helmet

Samurai armor was constructed with great attention to detail and made significant evolutionary advances from the basic armor of 4th century, all the way to the 16th century when it became bullet resistant. The types of armor vary greatly from country to country and even from clan to clan.

Regardless of the type of armor or the time period it is from there’s no debate that samurai armor was constructed with the utmost detail.