Horo is an interesting form of a armor used by the feudal lords of ancient Japan to protect themselves from the arrows of pursuing archers. It is made of of a lightweight cloth, presumably silk and is worn like a cape at the back of the warrior. The Horo is usually worn by messengers of nobility and is strategically designed with large colorful emblems to make it stand out in the battle field. This way the messengers are easily visible when they arrive.

In English, Horo means arrow catcher or arrow entangler. A lot of scholars are suspicious of the Horo’s capability of stopping a speeding arrow in its tracks and it’s reputation as a life saver. Because the cloak is made of sheer cloth, it is hard to imagine it being able to halt a speeding dart. Furthermore, the large colorful print makes the wearer a very easy target on the field.

I was watching a show on the History Channel a few weeks back and the episode was about the Horo. Like the many people with doubts, the researchers were quite suspicious of the capes ability. Based on their research, they recreated a cape made of silk and printed on it a large colorful emblem. They tied it to a dummy, and stood it against a fan to simulate a warrior riding a horse.

The next scenes were very interesting. Contrary to what others thought that the designs would make the wearer a very easy target for enemy archers, what they saw was just the opposite. When the wind blew against the cape, it danced and moved around, making it a very hard target. It was a confusing vision and looking at it you really wouldn’t know where behind the Horo the dummy really is.

The next doubt to dispel was if the Horo could really stop a speeding dart dead on its tracks. Amazingly, when they tried to shoot the dummy, the arrows loose speed as soon as it gets entangled in the cape and falls off to the ground.

With the results they have gathered, the researchers wondered if warriors did really feel confident to entrust their life on a piece of cloth. They wanted to test it themselves and feel what it would be like to be pursued by enemy archers. They simulated a war scenario, with one of the researchers wearing the Horo and several professional archers pursuing him shooting real arrows. All of them were on horseback and the arrows were dulled to protect the horse. Amazingly the cape wearer came out of it unscathed.

When it was over, the rider said that he could actually hear the arrows hitting his cloak but he could feel them stop and just feel them fall. After all their research, they have concluded that the myth of the arrow catcher was no myth at all and if they were actual Japanese warriors, they would trust their life on the Horo.

Even though the cape’s ability has been proven, it will still remain as a reminder of the past. Arrows and bows have ceased to be part of warfare. They are no longer seen as a threat to anybodies life so the Horo has lost it’s significance in battle. Although archery has long been dismissed as an effective tool for warfare, the art of shooting an arrow is still very much alive.

Today archery is considered a serious sport exercising skills of discipline and precision. Not only is it a sport, it is also a means of recreation. I guess people would always want and will always try to hit a target.

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