Was it always laced closed with cord? I can't find any evidence for Japanese armour buckles.
And also, what would a hinge look like? (like on a do) would it be metal?

I just can't seem much information on thjese two aspects, thanks for any help!

http://www.sengokudaimyo.com/katchu/katchu.html all the info on Japanese armour you could want.

Japanese armour was tied together with silk cord and the hinges well.. just look at the pictures on his site.

There is a nice article here as well

http://www.myArmoury.com/feature_jpn_armour.html

Cheers

GC

Japanese armor plates were attached by several methods, cords, leather, and chain armor ''kusari''. The chest armor ''dou'' could be hinged on one or more sides with a metal hinge, or it could have no hinge and the wearer would just pull it open and the tension of the metal its self would keep it closed, or the front and back of the dou could be two separate parts that were tied together. Dou could also have just a front piece with no back. The dou was held closed by cord in all that I have ever seen, I have never seen any kind of clasp or buckle.


Here are a couple of examples,


A go-mai dou (5 section with 4 hinges) plus hinges at the shoulder.




A close up of a hinge.




A karuta tatami dou showing the side hinge, note the piece of wire that acts like a hinge pin and keeps the hinge locked, the wire can be pulled out from the top to seperate the two sides for storage. This dou is laced entirely with leather lacing.



Close up of a karuta tatami dou front, showing the karuta armor plates connected together with kusari. You can see some hinges here also at the shoulder and the front of the chest.