thumb|A set of for kendo
thumb|Kendo practitioners wearing in training
, properly called , is training armour used primarily in the Japanese martial art of kendo, with variants used for jūkendō, tankendo, and naginata.
History
During the Edo period (1603-1868) the use of real swords for training purposes was discouraged due to injuries, with wooden practice swords in the form of and were often used instead. To further reduce injuries, practice armour based on traditional samurai armor was developed, with this practice armour being the basis for the modern .
Description and use
The word consists of two parts: , meaning "protect" or "defend," and , meaning "equipment" or "tool."
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The are mitten-like gloves. They were designed expressly for kendo. While appearing to be cumbersome, enough mobility is allowed to grip the in a comfortable, powerful, and firm way. for naginatajutsu practitioners have a singulated index finger and thumb to better facilitate the rapid shifting of the hands along the length of the 's shaft. have a little less padding than those used for kendo. In the past, were often made with fully articulated fingers. This is rarely seen today as there can be a safety issue with snagged fingers. A special heavily padded design known as are used by some , most notably Itto-ryu. The target area is the wrist portion of each .