Samurai Shoulder Guard

Pair of iron armored samurai shoulder guards (sode). Two, seven lame shoulder guards that attach to the armored shoulder straps (watagami) of a cuirass. The top plate has a gilded outcurving rim (fukurin) and the surface below the rim is covered with blue and white patterned leather. Three metal plates decorated with chrysanthemums are riveted to the top plate with chrysanthemum shaped rivets. A riveted metal plate (kogai kanamono) with a ring is riveted to the 4th lame toward the back of the shoulder guard. The kogai kanamono serves to attach the orange tying cord to the sode which then ties to the back of the cuirass. The reverse is undecorated save for a blue strip of cloth that helps hold the lames together.

Each iron lame is made up of many small, "true scales" (hon kozane) meticulously bound together to form a solid lame, then coated with black lacquer. The 1st (top) lame connects to the second with tan silk lacing, the 2nd lame to the 3rd with light blue lacing, and the remaining lames with dark blue lacing. This gradient pattern with the lightest color at the top and darkest at the bottom is called susogu-odoshi, and is inherently laced in the kebiki-odoshi style. The bottom lame also showcases a row of tweed lacing above two lower rows of orange lacing in cross knot patterns.