Kusazuri (草摺) are the plated armor skirt commonly seen on traditional Japanese samurai armor, attached at the bottom portion of the [[dou]], the chest armor.  They are composed of a grid of small plates ([i]lamés[/i]) made from laminated leather or iron and riveted together in a fashion similar to [i][[sode]][/i] shoulder guards.

Their role is to protect the waist and upper thighs while still giving flexibility, much like their Western equivalent, [[faulds]] and tassets.  

A related piece of armor is the [[haidate]], a set of similarly-constructed thigh guards worn underneath the [i]kusazuri[/i] but affixed directly to the thighs instead of swinging freely.

The simple cloth equivalents found on kendo [i][[bougu]][/i] training armor are called [i]tare[/i].

h4. See also

* [[List of armor]]
* [[Faulds]]

h4. External links

* "Wikipedia: Category:Kusazuri":https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Kusazuri
草摺