Editing Lamellar armour (section)

==Japanese lamellar armour==
Lamellar armour reached Japan around the 5th century, predating the rise of the [[samurai]] caste.{{sfn|Robinson|2002|p=10}} Early Japanese lamellar armour, called ''keiko'', took the form of a sleeveless jacket and a helmet.{{sfn|Robinson|2002|pp=169-170}} The middle of the [[Heian period]] was when lamellar armour started to take the shape that would be associated with samurai armour. By the late Heian period Japanese lamellar armour developed into full-fledged samurai armour called ''[[Ō-yoroi]]''.{{sfn|Robinson|2002|p=173}} Japanese lamellar armour was made from hundreds or even thousands of individual leather (rawhide) or iron scales or lamellae known as ''kozane'', that were lacquered and laced together into armour strips. This was a very time-consuming process.<ref>{{cite book|author1-link=Karl Friday|author=Friday, Karl F.|title=Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan|url=https://archive.org/details/samuraiwarfarest00frid_779|url-access=limited|publisher=Routledge|location=New York|year=2004|isbn=978-0-415-32963-7|page=[https://archive.org/details/samuraiwarfarest00frid_779/page/n108 94]}}</ref> The two most common types of scales which made up the Japanese lamellar armour were ''[[Commons:Category:Hon kozane dou (dō) gusoku|hon kozane]]'', which were constructed from narrow or small scales/lamellae, and ''[[Commons:Category:Iyozane dou (dō) gusoku|hon iyozane]]'', which were constructed from wider scales/lamellae.

<gallery class="left" widths="180" heights="180">
File:Nerigawa hon kozane (close up).JPG|Close up view of Japanese lamellar armour, constructed with small individual scales/lamellae known as ''kozane''
File:Karuta tatami dou 3.JPG|Japanese lamellar cuirass
</gallery>