Perfectly Preserved Tokugawa Shogun’s “Kago” Found in Fukui Pref.

July 31, 2018

Obama, Fukui Pref.- A palanquin that carried Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third Tokugawa shogun, has been discovered at a temple in the city of Obama, Fukui Prefecture, a historical museum in the central Japan city announced Tuesday.

It is believed to be the only perfectly preserved palanquin, called "kago" in Japan, used by a member of the Tokugawa family, which ruled the country for more than 250 years from the early 1600s, the Wakasa History Museum said.

According to the museum, the black lacquered wooden box with a 5-meter yoke for bearers attached on its top is 86 centimeters wide, 118 centimeters long and 102.5 centimeters high.

It was found hanging from the ceiling of the main hall of Hosshinji Temple in December last year during the hall's renovation work.

A record shows that Iemitsu gifted the kago to Sakai Tadakatsu, his close aide who became Obama Domain lord, in 1634 for Tadakatsu's longtime service.

"The discovery was a big surprise because few real palanquins used by shoguns and daimyo lords had been believed to exist," said Shinichi Saito, a curator at the Tokyo Metropolitan Edo-Tokyo Museum.

"It's an important material for the study of Japan's early modern transportation history," he said. Jiji Press