Lot Essay
According to Cynthia Shaver, Noriko Miyamoto, Sachio Yoshioka, Hanten and Happi, Traditional Japanese Work Coats: Bold Designs and Colorful Images, Shikosha, 1998, "the high officials for the jobikeshi and the daimyobikeshi often owned tobiguchi embellished with mother-of-pearl and blue shell, and made with fine woods with beautifully wrought metal hooks . . . During the early nineteenth century the term tobi became synonymous with firemen since Japanese workers were commonly named after the tool they most often carried," p. 142.