A Copper Articulated Model of a Mantis

The basic principle of Japanese armour is its flexibility, being composed of a great number of small lacquered metal plates laced together in rows allowing freedom of movement. It is this freedom which gave rise to the word jizai to describe jizai okimono, or articulated ornaments. The subjects of the jizai okimono makers are chiefly dragons, snakes, crustaceans, birds, insects - any such creatures whose articulating feathers and scales protect them from harm, as do indeed the articulating components of a Japanese armour.