Used by Uesugi Kenshin
Late Muromachi – Momoyama period
Donated by Aida Noboru
Sometimes known as Japanese signaling fans, gunbai-uchiwa were used by samurai commanders to direct troops during battle maneuvers, and were in use from around the end of the Muromachi period (1336–1573). They were made from various materials, such as wood, wood covered with metal, solid metal, leather, woven wickerwork mats, or paper, and then lacquered. The fans resemble the vertical cross-section of a gourd. Their surfaces are typically decorated with motifs such as the family crest, or a sun, moon and nine-star pattern. Today, these fans are used by umpires in sumo wrestling. This particular fan is thought to have been used by Uesugi Kenshin (1530–1578), who was considered one of the most powerful daimyō of the Sengoku (Warring States) period. It is covered in black lacquer, with a circle rendered in gold leaf on its front, and a moon rendered in silver leaf on its back.