Japanese Weapons and Armor
Samurai were very similar to knights in medieval Europe. They were the feudal mounted warrior class of Japan. The samurai even had their own warrior code known as Bushido, or the Way of the Warrior. The biggest difference between samurai and knights is that samurai were also trained in archery. Women could also be samurai as it was a social class, not a true profession (although samurai women were not often soldiers).
This is some samurai armor which is currently displayed at the Tower of London. Most likely constructed around 1570, this armor was gifted to King James I by Tokugawa Hidetada and modified for presentation around 1610.
Samurai were the warrior nobility of Japan. In Japanese, they are often referred to as bushi (武士). While samurai were only 6% of the total population they greatly influenced Japanese culture and traditions. The armor worn by samurai varied depending on the time and location, but they often shared very distinguished features. Having been influenced by Chinese armor, samurai armor was usually constructed from small iron scales which were connected to each other by rivets or leather cords. Some higher ranked samurai had cords made from silk. The helmets would sometimes have a mask depicting the face of a demon.
Shields were not used by samurai even though the Japanese knew what they were. Shields went out of style as the pauldrons (shoulder guards) grew in size and became more flat. In essence, the pauldrons became mini-shields to protect against arrow fire.
Japanese iron was of both low quality and quantity. Craftsmen did not want any metal to go to waste. To compensate for this, craftsman would hammer and fold the iron hundreds of times to make the metal harder and more suitable for manufacturing goods. A practice like this would not have occurred if the iron was of good quality, like what was seen in Europe at the same time.
A samurai was required to have two swords on their person while in public. A samurai's swords were not their primary weapons. Since samurai were trained archers it was the bow which would be the primary weapon. The swords were used as sidearms for defense when not in battle. The Tachi was the main type of sword used by the samurai before the katana became popular and replaced it in the 15th and 16th centuries. Even after losing its place as the most popular samurai sword it occasionally remained in use.
Contrary to popular belief, shurikens were not the specialty of ninjas but that of samurai. Being a ninja was a job that entailed military intelligence, not assassination and samurai was a feudal class equivalent to that of a knight. Most ninjas were samurai.