Notes:… that is certainly not the case when it comes to samurai armour!

The agemaki knots on the chest and back of a suit of armour, were actually functional, not decorative knots. Some of the lacing from pieces of armour would be attached to the agemaki, helping to stabilize them.

Text: samurai armour for man and boy

Annotations: Images of samurai armour are easy to come by on the ‘net. The second one (and possibly the first) are from Winter Japanese Art.

If you want to know more about samurai armour and the cords that bind them together, you’ll want to have a look at Samurai Undressed by Jacqui Carey. It’s out of print now, so interlibrary loan is likely your best bet..

Books mentioned in this post:

Wahoo, look at those prices. Get them from the UK and resell them to Germany. 8)