Mantis, Jizai-okimono

There are various theories as to why the armorers started to make jizai-okimono; one theory is that, they were first made as souvenirs for the daimyo. By the mid Edo Period under prolonged bakufu rule, Japan became a stable and peaceful place. Constant orders for armor were unnecessary in a world without threats of immediate war. This is when the armorers started giving souvenirs to the daimyos in hopes that they would choose them the next time they needed to replace their armor. One suggestion is that the jizai-okimono were objects devised to advertise the artisan’s skills and thus attract the daimyos’ interest.