Field Ensign (Sashimono)

Japanese

Not on view

Field ensigns (sashimono) served as personal identifiers on the battlefield and were mounted on the back of the cuirass (dō). Typically, a sashimono comprised a banner or personal flag attached to a bamboo rod. This unusual example features wooden balls attached to flexible baleen shafts that, when in motion, would have knocked against each other to create a cracking sound.

Field Ensign (<i>Sashimono</i>), Wood, lacquer, copper, gold, whale bone (baleen), Japanese

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