Part 2: Odoshi
What is Odoshi (縅)?
Odoshi is the lacing of the Samurai armour.
Odoshi is an essential technique in the construction of samurai armour, specifically related to the intricate lacing and coloured binding that holds the various parts together to assemble the Samurai armour plates.
Odoshi Lacing (odoshi ito) Material
Traditionally, odoshi is made from strong silk cords or leather and plant-based dyes.
Other materials might also be used to lace together the kozane, this process is called Odoshige (威毛). This lacing not only holds the armour together but also adds to its aesthetic appeal. The cords come in various colours and patterns of lacing give each set of armour a unique look which often hold symbolic meanings and denote rank or clan affiliation. A special multi-colour odoshi cord Chidori Odoshi (Plover cord) which resembles a chevron pattern or pattern resembling that of a Japanese plover bird. Chidori odoshi has a distinct pattern in the weave which gives a multi-colour or variegated effect when laced through the samurai armor plating. This particular style of armour cord is more decorative and is used specifically for the mimi-ito (trim cord) which runs along the edge of the plates.
In the Japanese tradition, the patterns and colour in which the warrior chooses to lace his armour were quite important and quite different, to the point that some Samurai families started to be associated with precise odoshi colours.
It is also said that the words came from the verb Odosu (脅す), which means "to
intimidate".
The whole armour if not worn was able to collapse like a telescope on itself
due to the laced structure.
Odoshi Lacing Colours
The colours most used for silk ties are dark blue, white, green, orange, pale blue and purple. The tint, contrary to what one might think, does not generally have a specific meaning and does not give indications on the military rank of the samurai, except for the purple (murasaki), generally used for daimyō and high-rank samurai.
Common colors and their meanings
- Dark Blue (Kon ito): A very common and popular colour, likely because indigo dye holds up well against sunlight. A favoured "winning color" (kachiiro) for samurai
- Red (Aka ito): A frequently used bold colour. It was also popular and often associated with the element of fire. It also serves as a colour for warding off evil spirits.
- Purple (Murasaki): Signifies nobility, royalty, and elegance due to the historical expense of purple dye. The most noble colour designated by the Twelve Ranks of the Crown. A prestigious colour, sometimes indicating a higher rank and colour for the daimyo.
- White (Shiro ito): Used for its visibility and often as a contrast colour in patterns. Used in various patterns, sometimes fading from white to a darker colour. It symbolizes a strong determination.
- Light Blue (Hanada ito): A specific shade of pale blue. It first appeared in the Heian period as a colour indicating a slightly lower official rank.
- Gold/Yellow (Kin-iro/Kiiro ito): It symbolize power, royalty, and divinity, often associated with the sun and gods. Yellow was a "forbidden colour" and was reserved for the emperor alone. This exclusivity linked it to the highest levels of nobility.
- Green (Midori ito): Fresh Green is the colour of green onion. A commonly used colour symbolizing strong vitality. It was a favourite colour for young warriors during their first campaign.
- Black (Kuro ito): It was a colour traditionally favored by
the samurai class, reflecting the valor of warriors. It conveyed a powerful message of
formal strength, loyalty and unwavering commitment.
O-Yoroi Odoshi Lacing Method
The primary odoshi (lacing) methods used in traditional samurai armour, including the ō-yoroi, are kebiki odoshi (full lacing) and sugake odoshi (spaced lacing). Other methods were variations in pattern or specific application.
Main Lacing Methods
- Kebiki-odoshi (毛引威) Full Lacing: This lacing method for the O-yorio in the Heian period. A more intricate, double-lace method offering strength and decoration for the Do (chest armour), Kusazuri (shirt armour hung from the Do) and the Sode (shoulder guard). Specific techniques include using reinforced mimi-ito along the plate edges and decorative hishinui (X-shaped knots) to close the lacing at the bottom.
Variations:
- Tatetori Odoshi: A straight up-and-down lacing vertically pattern, more common found in the very oldest ō-yoroi. This characteristic can be seen in the Kofun period armor "Keikou"".
- Nawame Garami: A diagonal lacing pattern where each hole is shifted and tied diagonally. It is named this way because the appearance resembles a rope or "wave-eye" stitching, which became the standard and more common for most early full-laced armor. It is a common technique in Kebiki Odoshi.
- Iro-iro Odoshi: Alternating colours in a random or specific pattern.
- Nioi Odoshi: Lacing colours that fade from a dark shade at the top to a light shade at the bottom.
- Sugake-odoshi (素懸威) Spaced lacing: It is a simplified version of Kebiki-odoshi. A simple, single-lace technique for main plates. This method became popular from the 15th century onward. It began in the Nanbokucho period and became common in the late Muromachi period as a more practical and efficient alternative, particularly as warfare evolved and mass production became necessary.
Other Lacing methods
- Ajiro-odoshi (網代威): A lattice-style lacing that offers both flexibility and a distinctive visual appeal.
- Nioi: Patterns where the colour fades from dark at one end to light at the other.
- Shikime: Creates a checkerboard-like pattern.
- Mongara: Involves lacing designs like a sun-circle (hinomaru) or a opposite side of swastika (manju).
Specialized Lacing and Patterns
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- Hishinui: Broad, ornamental cross knots /X-shaped knots, sometimes in lacquered leather and normally of red color. Placed on single or double row, they "close" the binding at the bottom-most plates of an armor section, such as the kusazuri and sode (shoulder guards).
- Mimi Ito: It is a type of lace more resistant, usually multicoloured pattern called chidori odoshi (plover lacing), which is placed on the extreme right and left edges of a section of armor, typically a contrasting colour to the main lacing at the ends of the plates to strengthen the structure.
- Omodaka Odoshi: A complex pattern featuring a large triangle of contrasting colours in the center, said to resemble the leaves of a water plantain.
The choice of lacing method and colour not only offered practical advantages in terms of flexibility, weight, and durability, but also allowed for rich decorative patterns and symbolic expressions of the samurai's rank or clan affiliation
Lacing colours, design, and material often denoted rank, clan, and loyalty of the warrior. Odoshi, was a system used for identification on the field. There were many different colour combinations that identified warriors from a distance. The pattern and number of pairs in the lacing specifically indicated the rank of the wearer. Higher-ranking officers had the plates of their armour laced together tightly, while lower ranking samurai had armour that was laced more loosely which also served functional purposes like ventilation and weight reduction.
The colours and patterns of odoshi often convey specific messages, such as loyalty, bravery, or the wearer's allegiance to a particular clan. This adds a layer of meaning and identity to the armour.
Odoshi is a perfect blend of practicality and artistry, making it a vital aspect of traditional samurai armour. Its detailed craftsmanship not only enhances the armour's functionality but also reflects the wearer's status and values.
A comprehensive guide on O-Yoroi Odoshi Lacing Patterns
Pattern lacing really only works with kebiki odoshi. Sugake odoshi does not, as a rule, vary in shades or patterns, and at any rate at no account should the two braids in sugake odoshi alternate colours.
The following lacing patterns also hold with braid as well as leather, although of course common sense and aesthetics should be a guide.
Although some shades of lacing are used independently (like hanada, a pale blue), many hues seem to exist primarily to provide the varigated shade patterns used in nioi odoshi and susogu odoshi. In these lacing patterns, the colours go in even steps from white to rich and dark. For nioi odoshi, the darkest band of colour is at the top; it is at the bottom in susogu odoshi. In earlier armours, the first band is white, then there is a pale-yellow band, and then the lightest shade of the base color first appears. Later armours might eliminate the yellow band and go from white to pale base, then on. There are also rare models where the colours come vertically from the edges (dark) to the middle (white).
Katadori is a term applied to an armour in which there is a difference in colour toward the top of the armour. When it’s an injected band or two toward the top, it’s called [base colour] katadori [interjected colour], and when it’s actually the top band or two that is a different colour than the body rest of the armour, it’s called [base colour] wata [new colour]. For example, when the top colour is white, it is called wata shiro. Aka wata shiro (a red armour with a white band at the top) was fairly common. The reverse, with the odd colour on the bottom, was called koshidori.
Iro-iro odoshi has no set patterns; the lacing alternates colours in a random pattern. There may be as few as three, and as many as six different colours.
A near cousin of omodaka is tsumadori. This pattern resembles nothing so much as an armour with only the edge of the pattern actually on the lacing. This is most commonly seen on ō-yoroi; it seems to have fallen from common use by the 1600s. An inverted pattern was called kata tsumadori.
Mongara odoshi is lacing which reproduces a pattern or a simple picture on the armour. Displayed here are the two most common variations of the mongara; the hinomaru (sun-circle), and the manjū (swastika, a Buddhist symbol).
Another frequent variegated pattern is called shikime. This forms a semblance of a checkerboard, either as an all-over pattern, or a more simple variation of lace producing a sort of cross.
There are several other exotic patterns shown in armour books, including ones in which colours seem to flow down the armour in waves with the lacing being forced into shapes and patterns. These are usually Edo Era developments and have no place in Period armours. There are extant Period examples (e.g., the tatewae odoshi here), which can be readily identified because the lacing maintains its natural vertical flow regardless of the colours used.
Patterns used on the front of the dō are repeated on back, on the shikoro and the sode, and often on the kusazuri as well, although sometimes the kusazuri are merely laced in the base colour. Some patterns reversed below the waist. That is, on the sode and upper body the lacing went one direction (e.g., the triangles point down) while on the kusazuri it went the other (the triangles pointed up). This was not a universal, however; it was more or less an aspect of the taste of the owner, and the aesthetics of what did and didn’t look good.
Unlike patterns formed by the applications of different coloured lacing in adjacent rows or in a specific lacing positions, leather lacing also allows the option of using a lacing material in which the “pattern” is actually printed on the lacing material. The most common patterned leather is kozakura gawa, in which small green or dark blue cherry blossoms are scattered over the pale yellow leather surface. The second most common pattern is shina gawa, in which white “fern leaves” are printed on dark blue or gray leather. It takes considerable skill to do this, as when “properly” done the image of the fern leaves is preserved across the bands of lacing.
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