Subject: samurai warrior
Culture: Japanese
Setting: Edo period, Japan 17th-mid 19thc
Object: 種子島 tanegashima matchlock guns = teppo musket, zutsu pistol
* Harwood International > Samurai Collection
"Bajozutsu (matchlock pistol) Edo period, 1603-1868 Wood, iron, gold ...
Blown off course in a strong storm, Portuguese sailors on a trade ship wrecked off the southern coast of Japan in 1543. They brought the first firearms into the country [CONTRA Lorge 2008 p62] and samurai artisans skillfully replicated them. This type, a bajozutsu (meaning 'horseback barrel'), was made to be used by mounted warriors."
* Harwood International > Samurai Collection
"Tanzutsu (short-barreled pistol) Edo period, 1603-1868 Wood, iron, copper ...
To fire this miniature gun, a lit fuse was released into the flash pan, igniting the gun powder. All matchlock guns were called teppō and the same firing mechanism was incorporated into rifle-sized firearms. The barrel is adorned with a miniature shishi lion perching on a cliff overlooking a silver waterfall."
* Metropolitan Museum of Art > Stone Gallery of Arms and Armor
"Matchlock Gun
Iron, inlaid with silver; wood; silver; brass
Inscribed by Kunitomō Katsumasa
Edo period, 18th century" ...
"Hand Cannon
Iron, inlaid with gold and silver; wood; brass
Inscribed by Kazuki Nobumichi
Edo, late 18th-early 19th century
The decoration on the barrel shows a carp ascending a waterfall, symbolic of success in life." ...
"Matchlock Gun
Inscribed by Enamiya Sakubei
Edo period, 18th century" ...
* Virginia War Museum > Fowler Gallery of Small Arms
"MATCHLOCK CARBINE, JAPAN, c.1850-1860
Also called the snaplock, the matchlock was the earliest form of mechanical ignition for firearms in Europe at the beginning of the 15th century. Early European explorers introduced the matchlock to the Far East where its use continued well into the 19th century, long after Europeans had adopted newer, more efficient systems." ...
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> event photos
* Denix #804820
* Denix #804821
> event photos
* Higgins Armory Museum > Scimitars to Samurai: Arms around the World
"Signed 'Norinao'; inlay by Matsudaira Hoki no Kami
Matchlock musket (teppo) decorated with family crests and dragons flying amidst clouds, about 1835-40
Japan
Iron, silver, brass, gilding, wood and lacquer
Weight: 9 lb. 7 oz. ...
When Europeans began to appear in Japan in the 1540s, they brought new technologies, including firearms. By the 1550s, Japan's skilled craftsmen were producing their own versions of these weapons. Tokugawa Ieyasu made expert use of musketeers in his wars to become shogun, and he knew all too well how dangerous they could be to the established powers. After he became shogun in 1603, firearm production was restricted, and existing examples were often transferred to government armories.
"When this musket was made, western governments were pressuring Japan to open once again to the outside world. The Tokugawa shogunate began to refurbish old muskets and manufacture new ones, but the west had developed much more powerful weapons since the 1500s. Japan was forced to reopen its doors."
