Samurai Arm Guard

Left sleeve of a pair of black-lacquered, rawhide and iron, splint style samurai arm guards (shino-gote). The exterior fabric is made of tan silk with tan brocade in an ivy pattern. The interior fabric is a coarse blue material. The fabrics are joined at an edge made of blue and white patterned leather. The upper end of the sleeve has two fragments of green silk lacing which would have had toggles attached. The sleeve is tightened and tied with dark blue silk cords on the interior, tweed cords on the exterior, and secured with toggles. Mail (kusari) made of small, circular links connects iron (tetsu) and rawhide (nerigawa) plates on the upper and lower arms. The upper arm has 16 rectangular, rawhide plates (karuta) arranged in a 4x4 grid, all coated with black lacquer. The lowest row has plates cut on an angle just above the elbow. Each individual plate has a faded green silk lacing sewn through creating a pattern of green squares over top the black plates. The lower arm has five long, iron splints (shino) coated with black lacquer. Narrow bands of mail connect the splints to one another and to the sleeve fabric. The hand guard (tekko) is made of 4 black-lacquered, iron plates. The elbow plate (hijigane) is a small cross shape with curved corners and has a square of faded green silk lacing sewn through.