ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Kikko (Japanese armour)

Kikko is like a really cool outfit that ancient Japanese people used to wear in order to protect themselves during battles. It is made up of lots and lots of tiny little metal plates that are all linked together with a string or rope.

Imagine you have a bunch of lego blocks that you want to connect together to make a shield, but instead of using a solid piece of plastic to connect them, you thread a string through all of the little holes in the legos and tie them together tight. That is basically what kikko is!

When you wear kikko, it covers all of the important parts of your body, like your arms, legs, chest and back. So if someone tries to hit you with a sword or a spear, the kikko will protect you and deflect the blow. It's like having a super-strong shield that you wear on your body!

Kikko was really important back in the day when people fought with swords and arrows all the time, because it meant that warriors could stay safe even when they were fighting in close proximity to their enemies. Nowadays, people don't really use kikko for protection anymore, but some people still think it looks really cool and might wear it as a costume for things like cosplay or historical reenactments.