Why Samurai Messengers Wore a Giant Silk Cloak Into Battle

Some samurai rode into battle with a balloon of silk on their backs. It was called a horo, a cloak about two metres long fixed to the back of the armour, and when the horse broke into a gallop it filled with air and swelled out behind the rider. Underneath was a samurai of the 1500s, the top of his head shaved and his hair tied into a topknot at his coming of age, at thirteen or fifteen. His armour was lighter than most people imagine. The full suit, helmet and all, weighed between eight and twelve kilos. 📖 Source: Anthony J. Bryant, Samurai 1550–1600, Osprey Warrior 7 Most men wore a banner on their back with their lord's crest. The horo was something else. It was said to catch arrows fired from behind, slowing them in the folds of silk, and by this century it was often held open by a light bamboo cage so it stood out even when the horse was still. The real point was to be seen. A man in a horo was a mounted messenger or someone of rank, and every enemy on the field could pick him out. That made him the prize. A lord of the time, Hosokawa Yusai, wrote down the rule. An ordinary warrior's head was wrapped in the cloth of his back banner. A horo warrior's head was wrapped in the silk of his own horo. People ask how one person makes these. The answer is musayko.com, a platform I built to do it. It's open to other creators now. Which warrior should we reconstruct next?