Samurai Shoulder Guard

Pair of iron armored samurai shoulder guards (sode). Two, six lame shoulder guards that attach to the armored shoulder straps (watagami) of a cuirass. The top of each shoulder guard has remnants of two silk cords that attach to the watagami and a wooden toggle remains attached, though it is not original. The top plate has an outcurving rim. Each lame is made of a single iron plate (ita-mono) coated with black lacquer and connects to the next lame with green silk lacing in the sugake-odoshi style. The lames are also connected by a vertical line of orange silk thread up and down the sides. The bottom lame is covered with gold leaf over a rippled texture (tataki nuri) finish. The reverse/interior has a blue cloth panel edged with blue and white leather which covers the top four lames.