Men's haori with dragon

Haori for a man with a decoration on the lining of a rectangular image of a dragon among clouds, partially overlapped in the lower left by a square with a calligraphed text: 'Daijobu kotae yuhi' (literally: 'with confidence answering the great leap'; Forward for the great leap with a sure mind), signature 'Nanshu', seal: 'Takamori'. Saigo Takamori (1828-1877) was a high-ranking samurai who played an influential role in the early Meiji period as an opponent of far-reaching Western influences. The text here may refer to Takamori's wish to invade Korea; in this nationalist sense, the dragon could symbolize the Imperial House. Black shiny silk (habutae) with stenciled yuzen decoration. Five family crests (mon) of three folding fans (ogi).