Samurai Armor Journal

Full front display of an indigo-laced ARMOURBUY armor reproduction on a stable stand
How to Display, Wear, Size and Care for Life-Size Samurai Armor
Plan a stable display, check fit before wearing and use conservative handling and storage practices for a modern life-size armor reproduction. Read more...
Modern illustration of Tokugawa Ieyasu represented in armor with a prominent helmet crest
Tokugawa Ieyasu: Armor, Authority and Display
Follow Tokugawa Ieyasu from sixteenth-century warfare to shogunal rule and see how armor became an instrument of memory, authority and ceremony. Read more...
Modern illustration of Oda Nobunaga represented in sixteenth-century inspired armor
Oda Nobunaga and Armor in the Age of Firearms
Examine Oda Nobunaga's sixteenth-century campaigns alongside the armor changes encouraged by infantry tactics, firearms and new plate construction. Read more...
Modern illustration of Minamoto no Yoritomo represented as an armored warrior
Minamoto no Yoritomo and Armor of the Early Shogunate
Place Minamoto no Yoritomo within the mounted-warrior culture of the late twelfth century without assigning him an undocumented surviving suit of armor. Read more...
Helmet and upper body detail of a silver-and-gilt ARMOURBUY armor reproduction
Kabuto: How Samurai Helmets Signaled Identity and Rank
Learn how kabuto combined protection, household emblems and individual design, and why color or crest alone cannot reveal an exact samurai rank. Read more...
Front view of an ARMOURBUY classical great-armor reproduction on a dark display background
A Short History of Japanese Samurai Armor
Trace Japanese armor from mounted archery through infantry warfare and Edo-period ceremony, with attention to materials, movement and later restoration. Read more...