Sashimono

The Sashimono were, at the time medieval Japan ease, of small banners carried by the soldiers to identify the troops during the battles. The sashimono are generally hung in the back of basic soldiers (known under the name of Ashigaru ), of the Samurai S but so placed in special carry-standards on mountings of certain soldiers of the cavalry. These banners resembling small flags with the symbols of the clan ( Kamon ), were mainly used for the period sengoku - one period of long civil war between the middle of the 15th century until the beginning of the 17th century.

The sashimono were used to standardize the troops because of the great diversity of the Japanese armours. The sashimono are generally black and white and of square or slightly rectangular forms. However one can also find other forms of them. Thus the Uma-jirushi , are flags of big size which resembles sashimono personalized and carried by the commanders of armies. There exists also a version much larger and fine, the Nobori , which requires two or three men to maintain it set up. The nobori was used like locates for the troops in the great battles.

The banner is supported by a framework in form of gamma “Γ” supported by the armor on the level of the size and attached by a ring to the level of the shoulders. The materials most used in the design of the sashimono are silk and leather.

The symbols on the sashimono are often geometrical forms very simple, sometimes accompanied by the ideograms of the name of the chief by the clan, or the currency of the clan. Often the color of background indicates to which unit the carrier sashimono belongs, whereas the principal symbol is often personalized according to division. The famous or respected samuraïs had sometimes their own logo or name registers on their sashimono. The stylized logos of the sashimono contrast with the complex armorial bearings of the Européens used at the same time.

See too

Heraldic
Akira Kurosawa - Japanese Realizer in particular famous for the precision of the costumes of time in its films.
Samurai

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