The helmet (kabuto) and cuirass (do) are the oldest parts of the Japanese armour. Usually the kabuto is made of several plates, but during Heian period (794-1185) and after introduction of full-plate armours, Japanese armourers produced some excellent examples of single-plate helmets. Thekabuto consists of two integral parts—the bowl (hachi) and the neck-guard (shikoro). Another element, the date, is attached to the hachi and has different functions—mythological, status symbol, decorative and even something like the warrior's "signature" or "ID card". The most widespread type of date was the horn or antler-like kuwagata.
The face mask (men yoroi), which literally means "face armour," was very popular but few samurai used it on the battlefield because they wanted their face to be visible to the enemy. Under the men yoroi a neck and throat armour (similar in functions to the European gorgets) was worn. It could have different construction and names (nodawa, eriwa and guruwa are three different types), and could be either separate from the men yoroi or be made as one element of the full suit (gusoku).
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