Introduce the Samurai armor shin guard suneate the history and types

Table of Content

• What is Suneate (臑当) in Samurai armor? 
• The history and evolution of Suneate
• Major types of Suneate

What is Suneate (臑当) in Samurai armor? 

Suneate (臑当) are shin guards or greaves, they are the traditional Japanese armor parts that protect the lower legs. In battles, if your shin get hurts, you will lose mobility, without mobility you become easy target and difficult to survival. Having a robust shin guard is necessary in battlefield. 

Together with Kote 籠手, Haidate 佩楯, they are referred as Kogusoku 小具足, means small armor parts.  

Material of Suneate

Suneate can be made from various materials, including iron, leather, copper, and even washi (Japanese paper), but the primarily material is still iron. Leather suneate became more common towards the end of the Muromachi period.

There are many types of surface finishing for the suneate, included gilding, silver plating, lacquering, and rust finishes etc. Initially, lacquering was limited to black lacquer, but later included gold and silver leaf, red lacquer, rust lacquer, green lacquer, and hammered lacquer finishes. 

The history and evolution of Suneate

In Kofun period, Japanese armor already equipped with shin guard. As we can see from the “Bujin Haniwa” (武人埴輪 warrior clay figures). In ancient times, it was called “Amaki 足纏” .Since then, with the changes in the era and the changes in the battle method, “Suneate” has also evolved and become an important part of Japanese armor.

At the time when Ō-yoroi (大鎧) was widely used, the most common type of Suneate was tube-shaped shin guards (筒臑当, tsutsu suneate). In the Muromachi period, a type of shin guard called Ō-tateage (大立挙), which extended above the knee, became popular.

Ō-tateage also evolved to cover up to the knees, lacking metal fittings at the back. Instead, a thin metal plate called okubyo-gane (臆病金) was used, named because it was visible only when the wearer turned their back to the enemy.

More Suneate types like Shino shin guards (篠臑当, shino suneate) and Kusari shin guards (鎖臑当, kusari suneate) were developed after the Sengoku period. These were more flexible and enhanced mobility compared to tube-shaped shin guards. In the mid to late Edo period, a revivalist trend brought back the polished tube-shaped shin guards as the standard.

However, shin guards made of plates or chains were heavy and add difficulty to moving. Because of this, the "Okashi Gusoku" (御貸具足) armor given to lower-class foot soldiers (Ashigaru) often did not include lower body protectors like haidate and suneate.

Major types of Suneates

筒臑当 Tsutsu Suneate

This is a type of Suneate made by connecting three iron plates with a hinge. One metal plate is placed on the front of the shin, and rest is hinged on each side. It is equipped by wrapping it around the shin and fastening it with a leather string. 

Tsutsu Suneate is the earliest type of Suneate, mainly on Oyoroi. They were sturdy but heavy, restricting leg movement, making them unsuitable for foot soldiers. They were commonly used by high-ranking samurai who fought on horseback with Yumi.

篠臑当 Shino Suneate

This is a type of Suneate formed by lining up thin iron plates horizontally and sticking them to the cloth. Although there are many plates, but still the shino suneate has plenty of space where the cloth is exposed, makes it a lower defensive gear.

Shino Suneate is the most popular choice used in Tōsei Gusoku. They first appeared in the Muromachi period and were initially lightweight and simply made for lower-ranking samurai. However, their effectiveness made them popular in Tōsei Gusoku armor.

Like Shino kote (篠籠手), Shino suneate were made by arranging several narrow iron plates, called "shino" (篠), connected with chains. Some elaborate designs used more than ten fine shino plates, with small bumps (疣, ibo) added for extra reinforcement and decoration.

When plates or chains are wrapped in fabric, this type of suneate is called "Ubusuneate" (産臑当), but this is a rare type. 

鎖臑当 Kusari Suneate

This is a type of Suneate formed by sticking a chain to the cloth. It was able to reduce the gaps in the metal, which is a weakness of the “Shino Suneate”, but because of the higher manufacturing cost it wasn't widely used.