Dou (胴)
*Page is under construction*
As previously mentioned on the construction page; Japanese chest armor (Dou (胴)) is described by its construction style and type. This page will discuss the different types of armor using the same naming method/descriptions as Trevor Absolon in his book Samurai Armour: Volume I: The Japanese Cuirass. His definition of type refers to the configuration of plates and hinges, while style refers to the construction and decoration of the plates themselves. To avoid confusion, very long and detail by detail descriptions/names will be used. Then, where appropriate, “catch-all” terms will be noted for armors, such as a Yukinoshita or Nuinobe dou, whose name applies to the armor as a whole.
Below is a chart from https://sengokudaimyo.com/ that provides another source for understanding what styles and types were commonly seen. The terminology will not necessarily follow the same naming conventions and descriptions, but is very useful nonetheless. Lastly, some types were exceedingly rare, and won’t be included.
Armor Types and Styles
Chart and graphics adapted from https://sengokudaimyo.com/
C = Common E = Extant P = Possible x = Not an Option
Click the type to jump to its section.
Haramaki
The haramaki is most often associated with styles of armor constructed with hon kozane (true scales), no hinges, and laced with kebiki odoshi. Over 1000 kozane are coated in urushi, formed into horitzontal lames, and then laced into the dou (See the x-ray image). The key difference from other types is that the haramaki opens in the back rather than the right side. It was often paired with a sei-ta (“coward’s plate”) to cover the rear opening.
Kebiki Haramaki Dou
Maru Dou / Dou Maru
From SengokuDaimyo.com;
“Maru dō is essentially the term given for tōsei gusoku (modern armor) made like a dō maru (or, if you prefer, a dō maru made in the tōsei gusoku mold). This is also sometimes called a kebiki dō, as it is laced with kebiki odoshi, but some armourers reserve this term for tōsei gusoku made of kiritsuke zane and incorporating one or more hinges. The maru dō proper is made of hon kozane with no hinges, like the dō maru.”
The general construction is the same as the haramaki. These are made with true scales that are formed in single long lames that wrap around the entire body and open under the right arm with no hinges. The flexibility of the scales/lacquer allows for the opening and closing of the armor.
Ni Mai Dou / Okegawa Dou
Ni Mai Dou / Okegawa Dou
From my experience, this type of dou is the most common for hobbyist armors to build, and it is no coincidence as it has been associated with nearly every armor style
A dou similar to the Nuinobe Dou with the primary construction consisting of iyo zane kozane laced into horizontal rows. These rows are then held together with hishinui cross laces that have been lacquered over.
Hishinui Dou - Hon Iyo zane Dou
Hishinui Dou - Yokohagi Okegawa
Much like the above Iyo Zane dou, this Yokohagi Okegawa dou’s defining characteristic are the cross laces in lace of rivets or vertical lacing. Making it a hishinui Dou.
Sugake lacing with horizontal lames.
Yokohagi Okegawa Dou - Sugake Odoshi
Yokohagi Okegawa Dou - Riveted
Lames riveted together
From SengokuDaimyo.com:
“Cuirasses that are smooth and show no sign of lames are called hotoke dō. These are the Japanese version of the globose breastplates. The term Hotoke means “Buddha” and is a reference to the smooth, round bellies of Buddhist statuary. They are usually met with in clamshell form, but go-mai dō (five-plate cuirasses) are also common. The five-plate variations are often confused with yukinoshita or sendai dō, but the lack of a separate munaita usually (but not always) marks the hotoke dō. .”
Note 1: The kebiki laced lames at the top of the dou make this a Muna Tori dou.
Note 2: Despite it looking like solid plates, this dou is made of lames that have been lacquered over with tons of urushi to simulate a hotoke dou appearance.
Muna Tori / Hotoke Dou
Go Mai Dou
Mogami Dou
From SengokuDaimyo.com:
“Mōgami dō are five-plate armours of solid lames laced with sugake odoshi instead of being riveted. Some consider kebiki-laced variants also to be mōgami dō; others do not. Some also consider any dō of lamellar (ita mono) construction with sugake lacing to be mōgami dō, regardless of whether it is a five-plater or a clamshell. Haramaki dō of five plate, laced, lamellar construction are called mōgami haramaki dō.”
Yokohagi Okegawa Dou describes the horizontal lames. Go Mai describes the 4 hinges creating the 5 plates.
Yokohagi Okegawa Go Mai Dou
Yukinoshita Dou / Sendai Dou
From SengokuDaimyo.com:
The only dō named after an armourer we can identify is the yukinoshita dō. Specifically, it is named for Yukinoshita Denshichirō Hisaie, who created the design in Sagami sometime after 1573. This armour exists only as a five-plate cuirass. It is also called a sendai dō, after the city in the north that was the capital of the great daimyō Date Masamune, who equipped his entire army with them. Yukinoshita dō are very simple armours, elegant in their lack of pretension.
In addition to their enlongated, smooth surfaces, they are identified by the large number of sets of kusazuri, and the use of kohire (winglets) jutting out from the shoulder boards over the points of the shoulder, protecting them. Yukinoshita dō did not generally need sode, and were often not supplied with them.
From: https://nihon-no-katchu.proboards.com/thread/1917/study-sendai-dou
From Ian B post on another thread
Very many years ago Dr. Orikasa gave me a sheet with details of what constituted a yukinoshita dou:
1. Go mai do, tapering towards the waist
2. Front plate often in 1 piece but I have seen 2 or 3 piece fronts, back generally in 3 pieces and concave over the spine
3. Muneita flat topped with raised rounded ends in a Muromachi style
4. Muneita riveted to front and waki ita riveted to sides
5. Watagami hinged to back and provided with hinged gyoyo
6. Hinges around nakagawa riveted to outside of the plates
7. Kohire hinged to watagami
8. Watagami fastenings fastened through 3 holes NOT 4
9. Yurugi ito sugake