This suit of armor was owned by Tachibana Akihisa, the 8th lord of the Yanagawa domain.
This style of armor is called retro armor made to be an imitation of the medieval-style armor. The retro armor was much favored by daimyo (feudal lords) during Japan’s peaceful period, and they are made with many decorative fittings in an opulent manner.
Lord Akihisa’s armor is the most gorgeous piece among the ancestral armor in the Tachibaba family. Its fittings of sendan-ita (right armpit protector) and kyubi-ita (left armpit protector) are made to imitate that of medieval O-yoroi armor. The strings are arranged with braid patterns of ‘kikko’ and ‘genji’ in five colors, and all of the kohaze (small toggles) are made of gold and bronze with a hairline inlaid design of arabesque.
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