Collection
Red Banner with Ii Family Crest
| Red Banner with Ii Family Crest |
| 276 x 166 cm; Momoyama period, late 16th century; Gift of the Ii Family |
This banner features the Ii family crest—the igeta (“well frame”) symbol—in gold cloth on a red silk ground. Banners of this kind were used on the battlefield to identify the location of the commander of a force; this one is said to have flown at the Battle of Sekigahara. Several banners of the same type have been preserved, including one believed to have been carried during the Winter and Summer Sieges of Osaka Castle in 1614 and 1615.
