This eye-catching suit of armor, weighing more than fifty-five pounds, was created in a style emulating armor worn in earlier periods. It was worn for ceremonial occasions by Hosokawa Nobunori (1676–1732), the sixth-generation lord of the family, long after peace had been established in Japan. From the 1600s onward, this type of armor, an amalgamation of two earlier styles, became the most formally correct protective gear for men of the warrior class.

The helmet was crowned with dramatic plumage from a now-endangered species of pheasant whose feathers could not be brought into the US. The main part of the helmet incorporates a much older one made during the Kamakura period (1185–1333). The use of ancient components conveys a sense of the high value placed on history by the daimyo.