BODY ARMOUR : WWII : JAPAN

Two piece plate steel body armour. The armour consists of an upper chest piece, shaped to fit the wearer's neck and to accomodate the arms, and a lower groin protector. The lower armour is attached to the upper part with two leather straps, fastend to the interior. Both upper and lower armour are slightly concave, again to fit the wearer's body. The armour is covered with a khaki coloured drill material, and is stuffed with a hair-like material. The front of the armour has two sets of brown leather straps fastened horizontally, one above the other. These are fastened by four rivets to a piece of rectangular leather, which is sewn onto the drill material. These were presumably to fasten around the wearer's stomach and back. Two buckles are attached to rectangular pieces of leather sewn diagonally on the front of the shoulders. These buckles receieved a missing set of shoulder straps, and would have been the means by which the armour was hung. The lower groin pice has a roughly 20mm diameter bullet or shrapnel perforation passing clean through it from the rear. The armour is water and rust stained. No markings are evident.

Body armour worn by Japanese soldiers during the Second World War. Provenance of this piece is unknown.