Nanban: Japan’s European Armor
Japan has had a strong impact on Western societies, but the opposite is also true. Japanese technology changed forever at the end of the 16th century. Japanese armor smiths created a new type of armor, called nanban, in order to mix Japanese armor mobility and European bullet-proofing.
Tokugawa Ieyasu introduced nanban armor, meaning “Southern Barbarian” on October 20, 1600 at the Battle of Sekigahara.[1] The battle plunged Ieyasu into position as the first shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate that lasted until 1868.[2] Nanban armor developed after Portuguese muskets and breastplates came to Japan on trading vessels as early as 1543.[3] As the nanban trade between Europe and Japan became more common, the more the nature of Japanese warfare changed. The Japanese increasingly incorporated European weapons and armors in battle, so to increase the defensive capabilities of his soldiers against firearms, Ieyasu utilized these new Nanban suits of armor.
Nanban armor differs from all previous Japanese armor and European armor as it created a hybrid of the two, keeping the best aspects of both cultures. Nanban started with an unaltered, though often decorated, steel cuirass that weighed roughly 10kg, a 2.5kg helmet, and another 2.2kg backside.[4] The armor was incredibly rare but extremely reliable. Armor smiths tested their work and fired up to 10 “proof marks” into nanban cuirasses to ensure reliability.[5] Both European and altered Japanese versions of the helmets, or kabuto, existed with various suits of armor. Ieyasu gave the rare European morions to his generals while later the nanban-kabuto utilized multiple scaled plates to protect the ears and neck.[6]
Soldiers required light maneuverable armor because of Japan’s mountainous terrain. Smiths constructed nearly unchanged arms, neck, and leg pieces with overlapping scales of lacquered steel, leather, and rope.[7] The main components of the armor contained hoate, kote, haidate, and suneate, and protected the face, forearms, upper and lower legs respectively.[8] Connecting these scales or gaps between them lied chainmail, or gusari, which was a new adaptation of the old kusari. Patterns of four-in-one round chains, called gusari, served as a protective glue patched between armor pieces.[9]
Armor and firearms continued to develop in Japan and the West, but nanban armor is the first bulletproof armor in Japan. Nanban armor is a leading example of the cultural and technological exchange between Europe and Japan after establishing first contact in 1543. Nanban armor, supported and developed under Tokugawa Ieyasu’s regime, created the trend following Japan’s armor development for the next 150 years.
[1] Turnbull, Stephen. “Battle of Sekigahara.” Britannica. October, 2018. https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Sekigahara.
Begin Japanology. Directed by Peter Barakan. Tokyo: NKH World, 2011.
[2] Turnbull, Stephen. “Battle of Sekigahara.” Britannica. October, 2018. https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Sekigahara.
[3] Sinclaire, Clive. Samurai: the Weapons and Spirit of Japanese Warrior. New York: Lyons Press, 2004. Pg 32.
[4] Harada, Kazutoshi. Art of the Samurai: Japanese Arms and Armor, 1156-1868. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2009. Pg 68.
[5] Harada, Kazutoshi. Art of the Samurai: Japanese Arms and Armor, 1156-1868. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2009. Pg 68.
[6] Begin Japanology. Directed by Peter Barakan. Tokyo: NKH World, 2011.
Bedrosov, Boris P. The Evolution of Japanese Armour. MyArmory.com, 2018.
[7] Begin Japanology. Directed by Peter Barakan. Tokyo: NKH World, 2011.
[8] “Nanban (Western style) Armor.” E-Museum. October, 2018. Japan National Museums. http://www.emuseum.jp/detail/100509/000/000?d_lang=en.
[9] Bedrosov, Boris P. “The Evolution of Japanese Armour.” My Armoury. 2018. https://myarmoury.com/feature_jpn_armour.html.
Works Cited
Bedrosov, Boris P. The Evolution of Japanese Armour. MyArmory.com, 2018.
Begin Japanology. Directed by Peter Barakan. Tokyo: NKH World, 2011.
Harada, Kazutoshi. Art of the Samurai: Japanese Arms and Armor, 1156-1868.
New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2009.
“Nanban (Western style) Armor.” E-Museum. October, 2018. Japan National
Museums. http://www.emuseum.jp/detail/100509/000/000?d_lang=en.
Sinclaire, Clive. Samurai: the Weapons and Spirit of Japanese Warrior. New
York: Lyons Press, 2004.
Turnbull, Stephen. “Battle of Sekigahara.” Britannica. October, 2018.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Sekigahara.