The Kutsuki were a branch of the Sasaki family hailing from Omi Province. They served as the stewards of the Kutsuki manor in that province in the Kamakura period, and the house continued through the Warring States period and into the Edo period, when some of their members became bannermen (direct vassals of the shogun) or daimyo (provincial lords). "The archives of Kutsuki family" consist of historical documents passed down in the family through the years. The Cabinet Records Bureau purchased them from the Kutsuki in 1888. Containing more than 1,060 documents, the archives were designated an important cultural property in the first year of Heisei( 1989).
This "gonaisho" (letter sent directly by the shogun to a vassal) was sent to Kutsuki Nobutsuna by Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542 - 1616), the first shogun of the Edo period. It expresses the shogun's gratitude for his year-end gift of a "kosode" (kimono with tight sleeves). It is dated June 20, but the exact year is not known. It is impressed with the seal of Ieyasu in black.