Dō (armour)

Dō or dou (胴) "breastplate, cuirass" is one of the major components of Japanese armour worn by the samurai and ashigaru or foot soldiers of feudal Japan.

Samurai acquired European cuirasses which they modified and combined with domestic armour as it provided better protection from the newly introduced matchlocks known as teppo or Tanegashima from the Portuguese trading Post in the town of the same name.

The warfare of the Sengoku period (15th and 16th centuries) required large quantities of armour to be produced for the ever-growing armies of foot soldiers (ashigaru).

[8] Edo period samurai were in charge of internal security and would wear various types of kusari gusoku (chain armour) and shin and arm protection as well as forehead protectors (hachi-gane).

[15] Tatami dou (dō) were lightweight, portable, convenient for transportation, and were manufactured inexpensively and in great numbers for the ashigaru light infantry.

A woodblock print of a samurai putting on a dō
Dō-maru with Black and White Lacing. Muromachi period , 15th century, Tokyo National Museum , Important Cultural Property
Gusoku Type Armour With do-maru cuirass and white lacing, Edo period , 17th century, Tokyo National Museum