When Danny was 16, he started collecting Japanese swords. But after he saw The Last Samurai as an adult, he knew swords weren’t enough. He wanted his own suit of samurai armour. So, he spent two years of his life making one.
Danny, now 42, is getting a great deal of attention online in Japan for his homemade yoroi (armor). Originally, Danny ordered a replica samurai suit from America, reports LabaQ (via 2ch). The armour was too small for him, so Danny decided he needed to make his own.
With the help of a metalworking craftsman friend, books and the internet, Danny began work on a suit of samurai armour. The process was long and taxing: The small metal plates were hammered by hand and then strung together by over 200m of rope. The suit weighs nearly 40kg!
Danny even decided to make a full set of weapons and a flag for his set of armour.
The suit isn’t for display only, and Danny, a bank teller by day, regularly cosplays with his wife, who dresses in a kimono.
Online in Japan, many people seem impressed by the suit. “Sorry for thinking that this was going to be some crappy cardboard outfit,” wrote one commenter. “This is high quality,” added another, while yet another thought the outfit looked like something worn by a mid-level boss in Capcom’s hack-and-slash game Onimusha.
Others pointed out the slight discrepancies in the samurai armour, but most were more than willing to overlook any nitpicking. Perhaps one commenter summed it up best: “Danny isn’t fucking around.” No, Danny is not.
ベルギー人「日本のサムライが好きすぎて…」戦国武将のヨロイを造って本気のコスプレ [LabaQ via 2ch]
The Golden Dragon [Danny’s Site]
Comments
3 responses to “Belgian Man Made His Own Samurai Armour”
Wow, I read about this on rocketnews 24! It was actually quite a big story on there. It’s strange that its not listed as a source here though…
Actually sounds remarkably similar to how I ended up making a full suit of Samurai armour.
Really dodgy sewing on the flag. But everything else looks amazing.
That is one hefty jinbaori, don’t think I’ve ever seen one that big before. Really good job on the armour, looks awesome.