Mud barrier/mud barrier - Aori

Japanese: 障泥∥泥障 - あおり

A saddle accessory invented in East Asia, it is hung on the left and right sides of the saddle under the horse's flank to prevent mud from getting on the rider's legs. The description in the "Teijo Miscellany" that "originally it was used to keep mud off clothes in rainy weather, but later it was used as decoration on sunny days as well. It was not used for military purposes, so it was not used for military battles or horse archery" is still believed to this day. According to depictions on stone pictures, bronze mirrors, Ming ware, murals, etc., rectangular saddles were hung under the saddle during the Han, Three Kingdoms, and Northern and Southern Dynasties periods. Three examples excavated from the Cheonmachong in Gyeongju, Korea, a ceramic vessel with a horse-riding figure excavated from the Kinkanzukan Tomb, a horse-shaped clay figure, and a bear skin saddle remaining in the Shosoin Repository all belong to this type, but the shape changed from rectangular to oval around the time of the Tang dynasty.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

東アジアで考案された鞍の付属品で，馬の脇腹の下，鞍の左右にさげて，乗り手の脚に泥がかかるのを防ぐ。《貞丈雑記》の〈もとは雨天に衣服にはねつく泥を障る為のもの也，後には晴天にもこれをさして飾とする也，武用にはいらぬ物故，軍陣騎射などに用る事なし〉という記述が現在でも信用されている。画像石，銅鏡，明器，壁画などの表現によると，漢･三国･南北朝時代には長方形の障泥を鞍の下方にさげており，韓国の慶州天馬塚で出土した3例，金冠塚出土の陶質騎馬人物形容器，馬形埴輪，正倉院に残る熊皮の障泥も，この系統に属するが，唐代を境にして長方形から楕円形にかわった。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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