nodowa

A thrust at the opponent's throat.

An item of Japanese armor protecting the throat: a gorget.

Attempting such a strike against a samurai would have been disastrous since they wore a gorget (nodowa) attached to their helmet or had armor covering the chin to the throat area in order to protect from that very kind of attack.

The nodowa proper is fastened at the back of the neck by cords, the meguriwa by hooks and the eriwa by a buckle. […] none of the nodowa I have seen that were a part of the neck guard of the menpo had any means of fastening thtem to the corselet.