A long narrow stiff obi composed of one width of brocaded fabric (polychrome figured silk with discontinuous [supplementary] wefts of silk and silver leafed paper strips wrapped around a cotton thread core). The pattern consists of paired mirrors; the larger mirror pattern includes pairs of ancient mirrors decorated with stylized chrysanthemums with scrolling vines ("kara kusa") superimposed on a ground that changes from diamonds ("hishi") on a red ground to a hexagons or tortoiseshell pattern ("kikko") on a purple ground. The smaller mirror is decorated with a phoenix (ho'o) bird (symbol of the emperor) with five tail feathers (symbol of the five virtues) in metallic threads on a half-white and half-peach ground. The larger mirror has a blue silk ribbon with kara hana (Chinese flower) pattern. The smaller has a purple and white cord. Above the mirrors is a branch of nandina ("nanten" in Japanese) with blue, green, and purple leaves and red berries. Snow covers portions of the nandina, which is representative of winter. The metallic threads in this textile are silver-leafed; however, some appear to be gold while others appear silver-white. The ground fabric for all these motifs is a creamy beige color. The obi has been opened along one long and one short edge. The lining, which would have stiffened the obi even more, has been removed.