Black leather lamellar armour (yoroi), with large shoulder guards (ōsode)

Black leather lamellar armour (yoroi), with large shoulder guards (ōsode) ​

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Prefecturally Designated Important Cultural Property (designated 1988)
Made: Muromachi period (15th c.)
Gokōgū shrine, Ushimado, Ushimado Town

 According to legend, this large suit of armour belonged to Empress Jingū, a legendary Japanese empress of the 3rd century. The helmet and left-side chest protector (kyūbi no ita) have been lost, but the right-side chest protector (sendan no ita) still survives. The protective skirt (kusazuri) on this armour is somewhat unique, being composed of seven connected rows of lamellar plates, rather than the usual five. Although it is currently laced in the sugake odoshi style, where cords are widely spaced, extra holes indicate that it may have originally been laced in the more elaborate kebiki odoshi style, which uses a dense lacing construction. ​

Cultural properties in Setouchi city​