The original model of the kendo implements existed in one of the schools of swordplay such as Jikishinkage-ryu (Jikishinkage school, a school of kendo, the Japanese traditional martial art of swordmanship), from around the middle of the 17th century but it was in the Meiji Period when the bogu was used in the Japanese art of fencing and the design similar to the present one was completed.
剣道具の原形とされるものは17世紀半ば頃から剣術の流派である直心影流剣術などで存在したが、防具が剣道で採用され現在に近い形の防具が完成されたのは明治時代になってからである。