Stirrups decorated with mother-of-pearl are rare, and this pair is perhaps the finest surviving example. Prominently placed on the front of each stirrup is a mon (heraldic emblem) consisting of three hollyhock leaves in a circle that signifies ownership by the Tokugawa family, which held the office of shogun (supreme military commander of Japan) from 1603 to 1868. At the time these stirrups were made, luxurious objects displaying the Tokugawa mon so prominently would have been appropriate only for Ieyasu Tokugawa, his son Hidetada Tokugawa (the first and second shoguns, respectively), or one of their closest relatives.
