Horo Cloak 母衣

To distinguish themselves in battle, Japanese warriors (bushi) paid extraordinary attention to their equipment. Of course, they treated their spears and swords, the weapons they would actually use in fighting, with great care. They also spared no effort in costuming themselves to make their efforts conspicuous to the lords they served. The crests attached to helmets, at the front, are a famous example; they were often strikingly unusual in form. Warriors also made use of a variety of other devices to showcase their performance. One of these was the horo. The horo was a cloak that armored warriors wore on their backs to deflect arrows. In ancient times, a broad piece of cloth was attached at the shoulders and hips by ties; it would fill with air when the warrior’s horse was galloping. Over time, the horo grew longer, with a basketwork frame of bamboo poles curving out and downward from the top. Thanks to the frame, the horo would swell even when the wearer’s horse was not in motion. The odd appearance of the warrior wearing a horo was quite striking, and on the battlefield, only the messengers charged with conveying the lord’s orders and certain other warriors were permitted to wear them. That was the case, for example, for warriors serving the shogun under the Tokugawa shogunate. The origins of the horo in this photograph are uncertain. Mounted warriors are often depicted with large, balloon-like horo on their backs in military picture scrolls and other source materials, but examples of actual horo are extremely rare.