The helmet of this suit of armour is signed 'Myochin Mondo Ki no Muneharu, on a day in the eight month of the sixth [tsuchinoto hitsuji] year of Ansei' = 1859. It is a fine example of a late Edo period copy of a Kamakura period armour, but with many embellishments which would not be found on the early suits. It does, however, represent the type of armour which was favoured as part of the nationalistic revival of the early nineteenth century. This armour was part of the diplomatic gift from Shogun Tokugawa Iemochi to Queen Victoria in 1860, which she in turn presented to the V&A in 1865. The armour was most likely assembled specifically for the diplomatic gift.