Samurai Shin Guard

Left, tube-style, samurai shin guard (tsutsu-zuneate or tsutsu-suneate) one of a pair. The base of the shin guard is of brown silk with blue brocade in a flower and ivy pattern. The cloth is edged with orange leather. Three vertical, rawhide plates are painted with brown lacquer and sewn to the cloth. The armor plates are curved and especially wide, making them more form fitting around the leg. Each armor plate is connected to one another with dark blue silk thread instead of the chain mesh seen in splint-style shin guards. The single inner splint is half-length to account for an unarmored panel (abumi-zure). The abumi-zure is a square of black-painted leather attached to the lower, inner section of the shin guard to prevent abrasion to and from the stirrups.

At the upper edge of the shin guard, a panel of brigandine (tateage) protects the knee. Unlike the rest of the shin guard, the tateage is edged with blue and white patterned leather and uses different fabrics and colors. For these reasons, the upper brigandine panel is likely not original to the shin guard. Hexagonal iron plates (kikko) are sandwiched between layers of fabric with a top layer of black cloth. Blue thread sewn through the kikko creates a pattern of blue squares where the armor plates sit. White thread is then sewn around the kikko to create a visible honeycomb pattern. Two long, blue, cloth ties are attached to the splints with black-painted leather strips at the top and bottom and serve to tie the shin guard behind the leg. The reverse is of undecorated blue cloth.