The armour worn by the samurai over the centuries was incredibly varied yet throughout the samurai age the principles of the samurai armour remained largely the same save for a few subtle changes. It consisted of a kabuto (helmet) for the head; Samurai Dragoon Armor; Oda Nobunaga Japanese Suit of Armour. Each piece of samurai armour consisted of a set of small iron plates called kozane laced together by leather cord. The resultant strips were then lacquered to protect the material against rust and then a series were tied together horizontally with silk cords called kebiki-odoshi to produce a light and fairly resilient samurai armour plate.
In kabuto there were also many different kinds of crests (maedate). These were usually fixed in a slot above the helmet's peak and often took the form of stylised antlers but they could also be any shape or form and could just as easily occupy a socket on the side of the helmet or the back. In samurai suit of armour some samurai, usually high-ranking individuals, liked to wear the jinbaori. This garment was a large surcoat and was usually sleeveless or had short sleeves. The idea of a samurai wearing a jinbaori was to give him a more impressive appearance, certainly the surcoat was often highly patterned and embroidered.
In kabuto there were also many different kinds of crests (maedate). These were usually fixed in a slot above the helmet's peak and often took the form of stylised antlers but they could also be any shape or form and could just as easily occupy a socket on the side of the helmet or the back. In samurai suit of armour some samurai, usually high-ranking individuals, liked to wear the jinbaori. This garment was a large surcoat and was usually sleeveless or had short sleeves. The idea of a samurai wearing a jinbaori was to give him a more impressive appearance, certainly the surcoat was often highly patterned and embroidered.