The Myochin were one of the great families of armour makers working from the Muromachi and through the Edo periods. Whereas the Haruta and Iwai in particular were retained armourers to the Tokugawa shoguns, the Myochin were independant town craftsmen. They styled themselves 'The best armourers in Japan', and their students in Edo set up branches throughout the provinces. While the need for armour declined during the late Edo Period the Myochin alone turned their hand to other objects, making iron ornaments like articulated iron model animals. The present great iron lotus leaf bears the name of Nobuie, famed helmet maker of the late 16th century, whose name was adopted by several later generations of the family, and as such may be considered as being among the last work in the tradition of the ancient armourers after the Imperial Restoration.

The man behind this collection was an incurable collector who loved art. He was particularly interested in the patina of objects, in multi-coloured bronzes, and in the juxtaposition of media – bronze, enamel and lacquer. He appreciated the details, intricate nature of the decoration and effort required to create each object. His aim was to create a diverse Meiji art collection, of objects created by artisans who were long gone, from a period and country very foreign to his own.