‘ The Beaver's best course, was no doubt, to procure
A second hand dagger–proof coat _ _
So the Baker advised it_ _ and next, to insure
Its life in some office of note: ‘
The Hunting of the Snark (Fit the First)
Lewis Carroll
Have you ever noticed the object that looks like a Christmas present in the small of a Geishas back? That is a stylised version of the haramaki.
The haramaki - Hara (centre of the body, your dantien) Maki (wrap up) literally ‘something to wrap up the core of the body' or ‘belly wrap/belly band' – is the last vestige of traditional Samurai armour that survives today, and rather than being obsolete it is still very practical.
Originally in Feudal Era Japan the haramaki was scrap cloth, often recycled bed sheets of linen, wool or cotton about 6” tall and 36” long and utilised as an improvised layered under armour. This wide sash was wrapped around the abdomen to protect the middle (stomach and kidneys) from the impact of sword thrusts and arrows taken by the hard outer armour during battle. So commonly encountered that foot soldiers used the term Haramaki Dou as a catch all term for all armour.
When off duty and out socialising the wearing of full body armour is hardly practical or polite, but ditching it leaves one very vulnerable to attack (especially by ambushing enemies) so many Samurai would continue to wear their sash haramaki under their casual clothes. Whilst not as effective as full armour it could turn the point of tanto thrust or at least lessen its damage. It worked because you couldn't see it, Samurai were trained how to target around armour or bypass it altogether using triple tap thrusts with the right tool (in old Shanghai Captain W E Fairbairn was introduced to a street assassination technique whereby a dagger is concealed along the back of the forearm and as the victim is walked past a reverse stab is delivered into a blood rich kidney, the blade is left in situ as the killer casually strolls away).
This gives us a good example of Samurai mind-set the term Hara O Shimeru – ‘to tighten the abdomen’ means to be prepared or determined.
During the Sino Japanese War haramaki were made by the mothers and wives of soldiers and given as a charm to protect against injury. Often red in colour as this was considered lucky and occasionally coins would be sewn in to them for extra protection (it is said that they allowed soldiers to be in a favourable position in order to deal a more greater blow to their enemies before they fell in battle themselves) as such they became a symbol of devotion to the women they left behind.
One side effect that the Samurai discovered is that wearing a haramaki kept one really, really warm. In a time when most houses lacked full central heating and winter temperatures could drop to -30° this was a handy way to stay warm without bulky layers of clothing (wear a haramaki and a hat and you barely need a jacket).
Many health benefits were also discovered. The abdomen band helps maintain a healthy lifestyle, as Kaibara Ekiken wrote in his Yojoku “ The chi of the stomach is another name for fundamental health.“. If you keep the hara (dantien) warm you keep the whole body warm. As well as warmth you acquire support, easing lower back pain (and even menstrual cramps) and as it covers the stomach it also aids digestion and blood circulation.
In keeping with the haramakis' tradition of improvisation why not try making one – out of curiosity if nothing else.
FOR WARMTH :
Cut up and fold up some old bedding (or similar), as we're generally bigger than Medieval Japanese your haramaki will be bigger than the dimensions I gave before so tailor it to yourself, and improvise a couple of straps to hold it in place. My personal binding straps are a couple of the near useless ‘belts' that come free with walking pants these days, they're actually ideal! Just make sure you cover your stomach and kidneys, it's all about preserving your core temperature. The SAS used to cut up exercise mats the same size as their upper body to use as an insulating kip mat, saving space and weight in their rucksacks. Advice from a Natori Ryu armour scroll says “ It should be tightened but still allow flexibility. If it is overtightened it will be unbearable to wear.”.
Don't overestimate how insulating this simple sash is, I once tried one out taking the dog on a short walk to Crank Caverns and barely quarter of the way there I was sweating so much I had to divest myself of it standing on the ridge line!
AS FIELD EXPEDIENT LIGHT ARMOUR :
The cloth itself is helpful protection but magazines / newspapers stuffed behind it make it work even better (their natural layering slows impact eg a copy of James Clavells Shogun can stop anything up to but not including a •357 magnum round – granted it's a house brick of a book).
Convicts have known this for decades utilising body taped magazines and sewing books into coat linings as armour against shanking attacks. Even undercover US SEAL Teams operatives are taught how to improvise body armour (behind enemy lines) using taped together books and ceramic (bathroom/kitchen) tiles, all of which is aligned with the centre of the chest and back as people generally shoot for centre mass.
Even if there's little time to prepare it takes seconds to slide a couple of magazines into your hemline covering stomach and kidneys, every little helps! For instance:
1/ Most people don't practice stabbing and are unaware that they might hit something hard (buttons, wallet, phone etc.), if you haven't trained for this eventuality it's possible for your hand to crash against a knife guard the resulting impact shock could cause serious damage, if there's no guard the hand may slide down the jammed blade slicing the fingers badly.
2/ Trained attackers will use set up strikes to control you making for a more efficient kill. A stab to the kidneys can cause you to arch (exposing your throat), a stab to the stomach causes you to pitch forward (exposing the back of your neck), both these reactions are involuntary so you don't stand a chance – unless you're armoured!
Incidentally in ancient China some members of Jianghu would practice the ‘Blue Foot Cloth Skill‘ a type of ‘Burglary Kung Fu’. A strip of linen cloth over three metres long was wrapped around the waist as a belt. This was used to muffle the sounds of entrance tools, could be rolled over a gravel path to walk across silently and as an escape tool to bend bars when wetted (in conjunction with a lever) or loop over roof corners to hide or keep moving.
Stay toasty
Mathew
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