Question on Tsuiokuhen Clothing

Sorry, I'm not sure if this is even the right forum to post this in, but I couldn't find the information anywhere else :shy:.

First, what are the gauntlet/bracer/hand-armguard things that cover the back the hand and forearm that all the fighters wear? What function do they serve? Second, what is Tomoe's lavender-blue sash-thing?

 

the leather thing that Kenshin wears is just a hand gaurd. made of leather and sometimes with a thin sheet of metal in it its only purpose is as a gaurd. and Tomoe's sash thingy is a shawl.

 

Ok, thank you. I though they were hand guards, but I wasn't sure since they didn't appear as if they would work too well against nihontou. And...I don't know too much about clothing, I don't think I've even seen a shawl before this, or at least recognized one...:sweat: Thank you again, it really bothered me for some obscure reason that I didn't know what those two articles were.

 

Hitokiri Gensai hit the nail right on the head. The thing warriors wear on their hands is a hand guard, or wrist guard rather. I believe the Japanese word for it is kote, though I'll have to consult some of my references that I've got lying around here somewhere to be sure. I'll get back on you later once I've confirmed it. It's made out of layered leather, sometimes with a thin sheet of metal, and though it's no match for a direct hit from a katana, the device does provide a measure of protection by diverting the path of a blade in a glancing hit. There's also an armoured version of the thing called a tekkou that covers the entire forearm. It's made of small, slightly thick, interlaced metal sheets bound together on a leather frame, much like a samurai's armour is. It provides better protection but is much heavier than the kote, so it wasn't as widely used in the era of the Bakumatsu as it was used in earlier times. Speed was the key to the street-fought battles of the Restoration era, and the tekkou fell into disuse. (Again, I'll have to consult my references to be sure.)

The Japanese generally don't wear shawls as Westerners do, but the use Tomoe put her blue cloth to was similar to a shawl. I don't think there was a specific word for it — it was just a piece of blue cloth — but Hitokiri Gensai's right, it was a shawl. Even though it wasn't really a shawl, per se, the way Tomoe used it made it a shawl.


Okay, I just checked my references and it seems that I was mostly right but that there've been some mistakes. Apparently, a tekkou is a pair of armoured gloves or metal knuckles that are used as a weapon during close combat situations. The armoured version of the kote that I mistook for tekkou is apparently a kote as well, only more armoured. The armoured version is used only when a samurai puts on his full battle armour (and sometimes not even then; it depends on the type of armour).

Regarding Tomoe's cloth — I looked up my sources and checked the OVA to be sure, and I can say with certainty that it is not a shawl. The Japanese don't wear shawls, and it is not and never has been a part of their costume. The long blue cloth that Tomoe carries is not a part of her clothing; rather, it is an accessory that women sometimes carry, and it has many uses. It can be worn shawl-like like Tomoe did as an accessory to enhance their appearance, used as a ribbon in their hair like Kaoru does, serve as an impromptu bandage, wrapping, etc... The cloth itself probably had its origin as an obi scarf, a long piece of decorated silk cloth wrapped along the top part of the obi right where it meets the kimono, which serves to accentuate the obi. But Tomoe already wears an obi scarf, so perhaps this one is an extra. Who knows? My guess is that Watsuki-sensei just threw that in because he thought it made her look cool. ^_^



Double posting edited - Zanza

 

Wow...thank you very much. That's much more information then I thought I'd get, I appreciate it.