Shigetô No Yumi Japanese Bow - Edo Period (1603–1868).

JAPAN - Edo Period (1603–1868).
Traditional Japanese Shigetô No Yumi bow, with a ringed frame, black lacquered and adorned with 18 red-lacquered woven rattan rings.
Signs of wear on the back of the bow and at its ends, and slight damage to one rattan ring.
Dimensions: 218 x 3 x 2 cm.
Dimensions with the base: 218 x 18 x 18 cm.
Notes:Among the bows with sacred functions and powerful symbolism is the Shigeto-no-Yumi (Woven Rattan Bow), the Bow of Peace and Unity.
History records that Oda Nobunaga first presented a Shigeto-no-Yumi as a symbol of peace and unity to one of the lords he had just subdued militarily. The symbolism is powerful, especially since he was the one who had begun using muskets in battle. Thus, through this gesture, the bow shed its destructive function to take on a creative one—the function it originally held. This Bow of National Unity thus became a symbol of Oda Nobunaga and his followers. It is displayed in homes and workplaces to inspire the courage, honor, and dignity of the “Warrior of Peace.”