Black lacquered helmet fitted with tokin cap and sacred sword ornament

This helmet was owned by the 7th lord of the Yanagawa domain, Tachibana Akinao.
It has a silver tokin hood on the front, and a wooden superstructure in the shape of a riken sword on the back, behind which yak hair is attached. Tokin is a small hood worn by a mountain priest; and riken is Buddha’s wisdom symbolized as a sword that destroys evil spirits and bonno (earthly desires). Motifs expressing divine protection are often seen on this type of ‘kawari kabuto’ — unusual-shaped helmets.