Cloth: cotton; hand-painted pigmentsexpand_more
The John R. Van Derlip Fund and the Mary Griggs Burke Endowment Fund established by the Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation; purchase from the Thomas Murray Collectionexpand_more 2019.20.99
This banner is decorated with a hand-painted scene of four samurai sitting on the ground carrying various weapons. The figure in front holds an iron folding fan (tessen) used to signal commands and, at close quarters, ward off an attack or be used as a blunt instrument. Beside him sits a warrior with a tall, cross-shaped spear (jūmonji yari) that extends almost to the top of the banner. The topmost figure holds a matchlock rifle. It is unclear which scene in Japanese folklore this scene references.
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