Protective breastplate/waistcoat used in fencing practice (kendo). It would fit an adult, close to the body. It is made of vertical strips of bamboo, bound with leather woven through holes in the bamboo. The upper and lower rims are bound with leather. Above the main bamboo portion of the armour is a panel made of two pieces of leather sewn together with four horizontal rows of leather stitching. There are leather loops at either side of the top of this panel. Through each loop is a textile band attached to the top back of the breast plate through leather loops which are attached through holes in the bamboo. These shoulder straps cross one another at the back. Two similar bands attached in the same way at the bottom of the armour tie loosely in a bow to held the breastplate in place.
