Tanegashima: Guns of the Samurai
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The first Japanese exposure to firearms came from Portuguese traders in 1534, as the southern Japanese island of Tanegashima. They received a matchlock, and quickly recognized its utility and potential - within 10 years matchlocks were in significant production in Japan. The style of gun took hold nationally, and they became known collectively as “Tanegashima”. These matchlocks served as major military arms during the Japanese warring period between 1575 and 1638, and then remained standard arms until the reopening of Japan to the west in the mid 1800s.
The distinctive stock design of the Tanegashima is intended to be held and fired at the cheek, and not rested on the shoulder. The style of armor in use at the time did not easily allow a firearms to be shouldered, and so the cheek was used instead. Calibers varied from 8-9mm at the smallest up to guns well in excess of 1 inch in bore diameter. The example in this video is a very representative common type of about .50 caliber, but specialized versions also existed from short guns for mounted shooting and reloading to massive “wall gun” types.
With the closing of Japan to the outside world for several centuries, the matchlock Tanegashima became set as the standard firearm. Flintlock and wheel lock systems never saw any significant use, and small arms evolution only resumed with the Meiji Restoration in the mid 1800s, when the Emperor reformed the Japanese military along contemporary European lines. Today, the Tanegashima is a distinctive part of Japanese cultural history, although quite rare in the West and not widely collected.
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Ian with that awesome mustache looks like he sold matchlocks to the Shogun.
The gun he’s got is one of his own stock
🌈
He has the Portuguese sailor merchant beard would definitely cosplay well as one.
It’s true!! The tapestries of Portugués traders pretty much have his stash!!
Although I suspect that Ian is substantially cleaner. If you have to carry all your fresh water with you in a barrel there are hygiene ….. adjustments that get made.
João de Collum
Arthur Goetz of Saika Armory here.
There are a few things I want to address here.
1. "Tanegashima" is a modern misnomer particularly popular in the West. How it got popularized is too much to explain for a youtube comment, but it's largely due to pop-historians of the last few decades. Tanegashima was only really used for the first decade or so after their introduction. Teppou (Iron Gun/Cannon) was the term used throught the late Sengoku-jidai and through the Edo period. Generally in modern usage, teppou in modern Japanese is a general word for "gun". Hinawajuu (Fire Rope Gun) is a modern term used to denote matchlocks specifically after the popularization of modern firearms to distinguish it. This and teppou are what you will hear most in modern Japan to describe them.
2. Flintlocks and Wheellocks absolutely were produced and known in Japan. They never caught on for a variety of reasons however, which I'm more than happy to elaborate on. Technology from Europe constantly came in through Dejima in Nagasaki via the Dutch. There is a lot to get into here, but it's connected with Rangaku groups ("Dutch Studies"). An example of a gunmaker who was in these circles is Kunitomo Ikkansai, who produced an improved version of the Girandoni Air Rifle in the early 1800's.
3. Japanese matchlocks did not remain unchanged over their history. It was a constant process of refinement and upgrade, to the point of many old guns being later upgraded or retrofitted. Schools of gunnery, set up just the same as other martial arts, proliferated exponentially. In Early Edo, there were about 9 schools; by the end of the Edo period, 250-600 schools had been developed, coming and going, each with their own specifications. The variety is staggering. There is no such thing as a "standard tanegashima". There are standards within schools, affected by regional manufacturing techniques.
Cont.
4. The grip, or daikabu/daijiri, is hyper specific to each school. There is a very particular method to holding them, i.e. "tenouchi" in Japanese. Note the cut outs on the rear. This particular example is meant to be cupped from the bottom, but there is far more too it than that. It is not meant to be held from the side like this as one would do with a modern rifle stock.
5. Armor is not at all the reason these lacked a stock; this is a bad myth that was perpetuated by aforementioned pop-historians. Oftentimes gunners actually lacked armor. This design is directly taken from the early guns that reached Japan from the Portuguese. Early 16th century European firearms are almost all cheek stocked. One of the Inoue when seeing Dutch gunners in the early 1600's had some harsh opinions. The Dutchmen had shoulder stocks and shooting sticks. Inoue remarked in his rant along the lines of "it's not real shooting".
From the 3:50 mark:
6. At 5:06. For the love of god, never, ever dry fire these. The soft brass of the hibasami (serpentine or "cock") is very easily damaged. This develops a lip both underneath and inside the higuchi (the "mouth"). This example lacks a pan cover, which normally would help to some extent in avoiding this. Dry firing against the iron of the hizara ("pan") is something that should never be done. The hinawa (matchcord) deadens the impact when firing, avoiding damage.
7. The match is not pinned to the hole in the hibasami. That is another modern misconception. The cord blows out of the hibasami by design. The hole passing through the stock, hinawa-toshi-no-ana, retains the cord from completely falling away from the gun.
8. Again, this is not a "standard style". There are many variations of daikabu and it's a very important part of understanding and identifying these. The "details" i.e. inlays are a hyper fixation of Western, particularly American and British collectors, as guns bearing these are what were imported during the Meiji period. In most cases these were added to appeal to tourists. They are the least important aspect of understanding a given example.
9. At around 7:10, this rearsight is a variant of the kata-fuji (half fuji) type. This particular form of it was most popular in Hino. The through hole on the side and the cut in front is for attaching a long range sight attachment.
10. The front sight being sankaku combined with the lack of a koji is commonly consistent with schools derived from Tsuda-ryu. This is another feature we see in most Hino guns.
11. The stock is NOT made in two pieces! This cut is to apply tension to the ramrod when the barrel is in the stock. Because of this, when disassembling a matchlock, you must ALWAYS remove the ramrod first before removing the barrel. Failure to do this can often cause cracking of the barrel channel due to the tension.
12. Again, "decorative elements" are typical of the tourist bringbacks we see over represented in Western collections.
13. Calibers. 3-3.5 monme was generally the lowest end of the military standard for most regions in the Edo period. 3 Monme and lower are generally either target guns or civilian firearms. Some places like Kishuu and Hino used 3 monme and 3.5 quite commonly as military standard, but most regions will fall into the 3.5 standard, with some going up to 4 monme. Higher calibers than this are less common but it depends on era, region and school.
14. The maker's mark will be on the bottom flat of the barrel, not on the stock. Stock markings are registration markings from the Meiji Period and not manufacturer's marks.
15. It's easy to date and place this gun. It's clearly from Hino sharing all the classic Hino features. Adding to what I said above, the barrels of Hino guns are thin, almost always lack a koji, and almost always have a triangular front sight and kata-fuji rear sight. They have a reputation for catastrophic failures due to the thin walls, but whether or not this is Edo period hearsay or rightly deserved is a matter of debate. The daikabu combined with the hira-karakuri, ibokakushi style, Sakai-style dougane, etc. are all typical of Hino.
You can easily date Japanese matchlocks by pan style. This is clearly a late example, most likely from the late 1700's-the mid 1800's.
16. The barrel on this is most likely not original to the stock. Note the barrel band, and the fact that the flats of the octagons do note line up with the geometry of the dougane. I assume the tenons do not line up with the mekugi-no-ana in the fore stock either. This is common on many tourist bringbacks being thrown together from mismatched stocks and barrels. The band hold it all together as the pin holes are now in essence not functional. The amount of poorly executed inlays would go further to confirm all of this.
Ian, this man is one of the best repositories of knowledge in the United States when it comes to Japanese firearms.
"Domestic Unrest" is the funniest translation of Sengoku Jidai I have ever heard.
Just a few decades of minor disagreements between people. You know, minor things.
I mean the synonim of those two words are either "rebellion", " Insurgency", "Riots" And "we hate our neighbors"
For those wondering what is being discussed. The Sengoku Jidai which runs up against the beginning of the Edo period (a very long stable and peaceful period), was more or less a feudal civil war with several dozen different sides that eventually narrowed down to two sides, Toyotomi vs Tokugawa. Tokugawa wins, enter Edo period.
So circling back, "domestic unrest" lol
@@kaerakh4267 Yeah, Europe had a lot of wars too. But I don't think it counts as Europe today. Japan is still Japan though, but we aren't allowed to be like them.
The 'extra spicy hedge murders' period of Japan
“The samurai always relied on their swords, it is the honourable way to do battle”
The samurai the literal instant they got guns:
More like, they always relied on their bows, then later it was their spear or naginata. Their swords were rarely their primary weapon on the battlefield.
@@markbunst5961 I think you repliced to the wrong person. I never said that Samurai would only learn to use the sword. What I said was that the sword was a secondary weapon for the samurai after the bow, and later the spear and naginata.
Saying the samurai relied on their swords is like saying modern soldiers rely on their pistols.
@@Riceball01 yeah they were just about using the best weapon against their enemy, they would've picked unknowing enemies off from a mile with sniper rifles if they had them.
Swords were primarily a dueling weapon and badge of office. The main reason we associate Katana with Samurai is because most of our first hand history of them comes from the late Edo period through the Meiji era. A Samurai fighting with his sword is the equivalent of a gunfighter carrying a revolver. In actual battles they used whatever was effective. Mainly polearms and bows. And muskets.
that interesting moment where Ian releases a Tanageshima video before all the other well known Medieval/Historical War youtube channels.
Awkward.
That's because Ian's the most wellest known of all 😂😂😂
Couldn’t have been the first time Ian’s on his shit
Gun Samurai is a channel that focuses on teppo jutsu (Samurai gunnery), it's a good channel to follow if you want to learn more.
Because some of those channels are ....."w33b00s". They blame "firearms" and USA. Had to misspell in order to get around the auto delete.
"Noooo, you can't just use a gun! There's no honor in that!"
Oda Nobunaga: "I'll buy your entire stock."
the samurai didn't actually consider firearms to be dishonourable, they just preferred the elegance of a bow, especially when used on horseback. they adopted lots of western methods of war and some even started wearing western-style armour such as cuirasses eventually. the so-called death of the samurai, the satsuma rebellion, featured guns & cannons used extensively by both sides
Yeah the movie "The Last Samurai" is based on a conflict that is almost unrecognizably different from the film.
The Boshin War was all about a power struggle between the Emperor and the Shogun at the end of the Edo period.
Both sides were extensive users of modern weapons and tactics of the period, but the Shogunate was the less modern of the two I think which is where that impression comes from.
Samurai never viewed guns as dishonourable. It was no different than a bow.
@@wolfgangrecordings Yep, the samurai in the Satsuma rebellion only charged into melee once they'd completely run out of ammo.
@@LordVader1094 not just then, it was the standard tactic in general in feudal japan too. ashigaru bow (or firearm) volleys to wither the enemy, cavalry charges to run down routers, ashigaru close combat with those that remained, then personal combat only if necessary by the samurai themselves. just like western field commanders, they tended to hang back. one thing i really hate is this western (and sometimes japanese) fetishisation of the "samurai sword", it was a last resort weapon and also a badge of office so it had as much, if not more, symbolic use as practical use. samurai were expert archers and would use a bow or a polearm (naginata, yari etc) all from horseback before they even considered a sword. it just makes more sense to use a ranged weapon until/unless you can't. the samura were honourable, but they were also smart and practical. why charge into the enemy on foot with a sword when you can be far more effective (and likely to survive) from a distance?
I was not expecting this. As a Japanese man I am happy you made this video.
I love Japan 🎌
Why did yall do that to China?
That a yikes...@@user-hw3yy5ge4n
@@user-hw3yy5ge4n it was over 80 years ago, leave them alone lol
@@user-hw3yy5ge4n
What the hell does this have to do with this video, buddy?
Remember, switching to your samurai sword is always faster than reloading.
😂😂😂
or a bow which is better than this thing in every way
😂😂😂
Ishinn ashina 👀
Using Iaido after firing your weapon is optimal in battle, gakusei!
Men sad, men see forgotten weapons video, men watch video, men happy.
Man grunt in appreciation
Story of my life
Simple as.
Forgotten Weapons Haiku or death poem?
For me it's "men sleepy - men awake" because of his upload time being around the time I wake up. I have such a strong association of these videos with being groggy
Keyboard knights: Longsword!
Keyboard Samurai: Katana!
Real knights and samurai: *GUNS.*
Part of the reason the stock is shaped that way is because that is the same style that was used by the Portuguese at that period in history. It wasn't so much that the samurai adapted something to be used with their armor. It was more that the Portuguese had already developed a firearm to work with the armor and helmets they were wearing during that time period, and that was what the Japanese adopted as their standard.
You are right this stile was the stile of the guns we produced in Goa and in Cochim in India in our main factories in the time, it wasnt really related with the samurai armor or something like that, even though they used a new hybrid armor, the chest was european style while the rest was the good old samurai style armor, i think it was called nanban... something, wich meant barbarian ... something...
I’ve known about these for years.
Today I found out why the stocks are so short.
Thank you, Ian.
they were originally copied from southeast asian matchlocks (see istinggar) which have a similar style of stocks and locks
My dad has one of these, always felt a bit odd to hold
@@AntonDVasiliev-ss1ie That's not quite the case. The reason a Tanegashima and an Istinggar look so similar is because they're both copying a standard 16th century Iberian arquebus.
The short stock was inherited from the crossbow and a common sight on European guns until the Dutch "fish tail" style took over in the 17th century.
@@AntonDVasiliev-ss1ie asian cheekstock matchlocks were based on portuguese arquebus typical of the first quarter of the 16th century with stock and lock designs almost identical to the japanese one.
Everyone who shittalked Henry Axe & Mossberg Shockwave boys for cheeking them is formally invited to eat my ass BIRDHEADS UNITE
I'm amazed it took me this long to realize the term "lock" for firearms may have come from locksmiths making them given their experience with smaller, mechanical craftsmanship. Damnably hard to find any actual etymological backing for it though prior to the 15th century.
And barrels were named because the earliest guns were made with metal planks held together with bands, aka how a barrel is made
@@MegaZeta loch *
@@connerymilne6466 I like to imagine that stocks got their name because they were originally filled with powdered beef. And then they stopped doing that because it was stupid, but the name stuck.
@@AshleyPomeroy same for the cocking handles, they used to be shaped like little dicks although this was after they stopped using powdered beef! I think then every buttstock was shaped like an ass hence the name for that too
Great scene in Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai where one of the bandits is lounging unaware with his matchlock, idly blowing on the match fuse to keep it going, when one of the Samurai saunters up to him and takes him out.
Great movies about historical periods, including the Old West, are often set when that era is coming to an end. Look at all the classic Westerns movies that depicted the time the frontier was closing and the old cowboy way of life was on its way out. It was no coincidence that four of the seven Samurai, including the Master Swordsman died, but none of them were killed by the traditional cutting weapons of medieval Japan. They were all shot from a distance by musket men who were not even in camera view. At the end the survivors realized they were obsolete.
I love that scene. The bandit even gives the gun to the samurai so he can look at it, who then hands it back after his curiosity is satisfied before the bandit realizes who he is and tries to run. If you liked 'Seven Samurai', watch 'Kagemusha' by the same filmmaker, that film is packed with Tanegashima.
I'm reminded of the scene in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly where the main characters stumble on a full-scale civil war battle with artillery - they suddenly realise that individual men with guns aren't much in the grand scheme of things.
As extra detail Kikuchiyo (samurai you mention) was not even a samurai - he was delusional commoner with badassitude to make him very credible samurai when fighting was involved. He was portrayed by Toshiro Mifune himself. At the end it is not so much about survivors realizing that they have become obsolete, but understanding that their contract is over with bandit threat being dead so it's back on the road again with no three square meals a day guaranteed.
The Seven Samurai is an amazing movie that shows this whole revolution of gunpowder and the Japanese people. Kurosawa is and was very important in Japanese cinema. I love his movie called Harakiri(or Sepuku).
Your interpretation is bizarre, it really has nothing to do with the obsolescence of the Samurai. This probably arises from your perspective where you think guns were foreign or dishonorable. They were more prolific in Japan during that period than in Europe. Also you might have not noticed they weren't dying honorably in some battle they were defending peasants from bandits, not exactly glorious in the first place.
ah, the Tanegashima. I remember this weapon from Metal Gear Solid 4
I remember seeing the tornado for the first time trying to figure out wtf just happened
war has changed....
@@GiveMeThatCakeI thought I started a boss battle sequence the first time it happened to me.
Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker also has this gun
I was hoping to see such a comment and was not disappointed.
I honestly just wish there had been an option to turn off the tornado effect (maybe like the weapon-light or firemode selection on other weapons). I enjoyed just using the weapon as a handicap along w/ the stealth camo, but the tornado bit limits this because it's extremely overpowered.
Shortly after Portuguese firearms showed up in Japan, Japan went through its massive civil war known as the Sengoku Jidai. They didn't just have lots of guns, Japan during this time produced so many firearms, for a while there was more firearms on the Japanese Islands than all of Europe combined. During the Sengoku Jidai firearm warfare was revolutionized by Japan, with tactics like "Fire by rank" where the front rows kneel after firing to reload while the rows behind fire over their heads, is believed to have originated in Japan at this time. There was some massive battles during this war as well, particularly the Battle of Sekigahara, involving mass amounts of firearms, and over 160,000 men, numbers not seen again until Napoleon.
Nobunaga introduced volley fire to Japan.
fire by ranks is more likely just a parallel ideas since europeans already implemented it.
in our modern views we'd think rate of fire is everything since we're used to automatic firearms but back in those days they were just used like typical skirmish ranged weapons like bows and crossbows but much more powerful so they have the typical vulnerability of a range unit.
@@dolsopolar Point is, fire by rank in Japan pre-dates European use by over a century, so no, it wasn't parallel time wise. the Sengoku Jidai was in the late 1500s and early 1600s.
Now I find it plausible that the European use of fire by rank could have been a parallel idea much later, and that it wasn't just purely copied by Europeans from the Japanese. However the Japanese definitely did it first, and it shows how forward thinking in many ways they were when it came to military strategy/tactics, even back then.
@@-Zevin- I get what you mean, but the term "origin" doesn't only mean they did it first. It asserts that everyone else learned it from the Japanese. The other commenter wasn't using "parallel" in the sense of "contemporaneous", but rather "similar forms that do not share an origin".
@@IlIlllIIIllIIlIIlII It's like the warfare version of Convergent Evolution lol.
The tanageshima have always been fascinating and beautiful examples of matchlocks.
If anyone's still not sold on the short cheek-weld stock (even ignoring that they were used for 300 years), they were also used in Europe as well by armored cavalrymen who couldn't shoulder their carbines on their cuirasses. They were sometimes called paddle stock carbines for the shape of their stocks, and capandball has a great video where he uses one. Ian also has a video where he learns how to use a club stock shotgun and comes around to it, although that technique is different to the Japanese technique. Also also, the Japanese lords of the southern fiefs were so enamored with the arquebus that Portuguese traders sold them thay they invested huge amount of resources into reverse engineering them. Apparently it only took around 5ish years to successfully set up mass manufacturing operations and start cranking out thousands of them.
That's a wonderful explanation.It's probably a matchlock gun from the Edo period.I feel that the reason why the decoration of guns is beautiful is because the war period is over, it is economically stable, and it is an era to compete for the beauty of weapons.It's a wonderful gun.Please forgive my poor English.
It was good to talk to you.
In Aizu Wakamatsu I had the unique experience of using one. One of the greatest experiences of japan
I'd be very interested in learning more about that!
@@hendi1571 it’s more I had a host family who had the permits the land and were interested in the Boshin war. So they had plenty of weapons and stuff from the battle. They also had samurai armor, and a Spencer repeating rifle because of mijima yea san. She is a veteran of the battle. She’s japans ane Oakley. And she cofounded Doshisha became a Christian and I go to Doshisha now.
@@sayorisione8868 oh a fellow 関関同立 student, very cool
This brings back memories of playing Total War: Shogun when I held off a force 5 times my size with strategically placed Arquebus Ashigaru on top of a steep hill. With the only way to get to me a narrow mountain pass. By the time enemy troops reached my front line each unit had lost 1/3, 1/2 of their men and with low morale they then had to face of against Yari Ashigaru backed by Nodachi Samurai on higher ground, all pretty much broke and fled. When I finally ran out of ammo, I still had a unit of fresh archers that took over. I won that battle with minimal losses (less then 10) while the enemy lost 45% of it's troops.
Sadly, after that battle was over, they ran me down again and in the battle that followed the terrain was not to my advantage having to defend in an open field.
Shameful dispray!!!!
Made me think more of Samurai Warriors (specifically the Battle of Nagashino), probably because I've never stayed with Total War: Shogun long enough to unlock firearms.
the Shogun TV series made me watch this immediately.
Interesting safety feature(?) on Tanegashima:
When firing, the match cord flies off the gun and is retained by being wrapped around the gunner's arm. The gunner then loads the gun, seals the pan, then reattaches the cord before shooting.
This might apply to other matchlocks, but European styles seem to retain their cords when firing and are simply fed further when the wick end becomes too short. At least, that's what I see most often.
That thing is a piece of art.
Amateur blacksmith here, would love to see some more matchlock episodes. I generaly make bladed weapons but I have dabbled in matchlocks and would love to see more of them featured here.
Oh and I want to see Ian in full samurai armor using this matchlock in a 2 gun match!
There is a martial art dedicated to using these matchlock guns. It's called Hojutsu.
The Portuguese colonial armory in Goa produced snap-matchlocks in bulk for their imperial possessions around the Indian Ocean. As you can imagine, this remote imperial armory was not charged with producing the latest/greatest models. It was well antiquated by 1543.
Snaphance/snap-locks, snap-matchlocks, etc. were in widespread use in the 16th century. For military use, the triple constraint/military logistics never change. It was generally a waste to pay extra for better ignition systems for general troops. I.e. a simple trigger bar pivoting a match holder (matchlock) was fine, and frankly easier to manage for training command&control of a quickly raised troops. Thus, the seeming confusing paradox where more advanced firearms were widespread and common, yet "obsolete" (per modern eyes) systems continue to prevail.
The same thing exists today: Nerds argue over minute technical improvements as decisive “advantages” for every conceivable pattern of firearm. (competent) Military practitioners study logistics, training, command&control to balance practical/reasonable employment in non-ideal conditions to achieve probable results.
The myriad of terms and quasi-categories applied to pre-18th century firearms do more to confuse moderns as we forget how much language itself can change. Doubly so for the anglophone world.
P.S. “match” refers to a cord of hemp/flax infused with potassium nitrate (saltpeter). This oxidizer makes it burn much hotter and thus able to ignite reliably and quickly. A simple burning wick stuck in the pan will not ignite it (reliable/in a timely manner)
P.S.S. Most muzzleloaders were being charged and primed with paper (disposable) or wood (reusable) premeasured cartridges.
P.S.S.S. “Patching” is a misnomer. Wadding (if available from paper cartridges) was loaded with/on top of the shot. Its purpose was to keep the charge and shot tamped down, allowing reliable firing despite field maneuver. Though the same effect can crudely be approximated by ramming to deform the shot.
A fine specimen. Alternately called '' teppo '' or '' hinawaju ''.
It also has a chance of summoning tornados when firing in an open area.
KAMIKAZE!!!!!
I understood and appreciate that reference
BROTHER! It's been too long!
Snakeeeeee
You're pretty good...
"This is not intended to be fired from the shoulder"
I can't wait for Demonstrated Concept's video on this!
Nothing new under the sun.
1543, Ian. Probably just a typo in your script, I'm guessing.
Thank you for doing a video on these. It's a very interesting period of Japanese history, and most westerners don't realise just how popular firearms were with the samurai.
Interesting note, while they became woefully outdated by the 1800's, Japanese firearms were some of the absolute best in the world for the first half of the 1500's (i.e. before their isolation).
By the 1800's they'd definitely be the worlds best matchlocks after 250 years of refinement :)
@@JeffBilkins Debatable. Refinement of military technology often rises from need to develop. By mid-1800's, Japan had enjoyed about 200 years of continuous peace. During that time Japan also had quite restrictive laws on the usage and ownership of firearms and the nation-wide numbers absolutely crashed after the Sengoku-period came to a close.
Hence, a good deal of the existing gun production during the Edo-period targeted a relatively small, wealthy group of people that didn't really need the weapons for use in an actual conflict. This isn't to say that the guns weren't finely made; They absolutely were. They were often highly decorated, intricately and lovingly crafter works of art, such as the one in the video. But that's not the same thing as a practical, effective weapon to equip an entire army with.
The more traditional weapons of the Edo-period share these traits too; They're beautiful, light and even brand-new, without the additional value of being a genuine, rare antique item, they were expensive. These are not the traits of a good weapon of war and if we look at the Japanese take in itself, their Sengoku-era weapons are usually robust, largely undecorated and critically for a clan in war, relatively fast and cheap to produce in meaningful numbers.
@@miskakopperoinen8408 I believe there was some innovation that went into Sengoku era firearms such as the addition of a lacquered wooden box case which was fitted over the lock and pan section to help keep the wick lit and also help to reduce the chances of strong winds and moisture from messing with the powder that was in the pan. There was also an increase in the size of the bore and lengthening of the barrel, though exactly when these and other such modifications were added - and to what extent these became commonplace, I can't say for certain at the moment. Additionally I believe that powder cartridges made from lacquered bamboo came along at some point as well.
Well... The portuguese/Indian made ones were the best but in the metallurgic the japanese ones were superior so...
Also some german crossbows, match- , wheel- and flintlock stocks are very short and strangelooking. The reason was the same, the breastblades. Some more advanced japanese matchlock muskets ( with a Schnappschloß, don't know english word) had been in 1860s updated into Percussion muskets.
I believe the word you're looking for is snap-lock. (not the proto-flintlock snaplock/snaphance) or a snap-matchlock or tinderlock, as early slow matches were too thick to be used on the lock itself they were only used to lit small piece of tinders on earlier arquebus until around 1550 when it was replaced by simpler serpentine matchlock for military use but remained popular as target guns because snap action is more accurate and tinders are cheaper than matches.
@@dolsopolar : Matchlock ( Luntenschloß) is umbrella term, as you correctly described, there are Luntenschnappschloß and Serpentinenschloß, which was usually used. In german collections you sometimes see percussion rifles, with noted oldfashioned stock, and a cook, which turns/beats in , wrong ' direction, this are converted wheellock rifles. And sorry for my writing error. Breastplates, not breastblades. In my german dialect, t k and p are spoken as d g and b.
Some of them even got updated to house 1880 Murata breechloading mechanisms.
The recoil is also just very different. It's not as sharp and concentrated as it is with modern smokeless powder.
Love the old stuff.... and the history lesson thanks for sharing
The breech loading swivel guns of 16th century Japan are quite possibly the most refined examples of that type of weapon I've ever seen. I've often wondered why we didn't see breech-loading swivel guns absolutely _everywhere_ in the premodern era . . the slight loss in power seems like such a small price to pay for the rate of fire. The Japanese, for their part, definitely saw their worth and developed the design extensively.
Maybe consider expense. Breech loaders were expensive, both cannon AND rifle. It wasn't until standardized parts made it cheaper
@@voltekthecyborg7898 True, swivel guns had more parts, but they were comparatively crude from a fit and finish perspective. In addition, their low pressure (due to leakage and small bore) allowed them to be made of iron in an era when all high performance guns were brass.
I haven't hit the books extensively on this topic, but I suspect that the reason might be just as related to safety. Imagine you have a breech loading swivel gun. Excellent. Now, in order to get your rate of fire way up, you need to preload a dozen or so mugs of gunpowder and projectiles. Open mugs. Then . . sort of just lay them out nearby . . in the middle of a battle, or a fleet action, with who knows how many hot things flying around.
OK, you say, fine. Just use two mugs, then, and have a helper reload the one you just used. Except . . . the mugs will get hot, and if you reload it when it's hot, whelp, same problem.
"Don't bring sword to a gun fight "
- Oda Nobunaga
i mean their bows were still better than these guns since they took so long to reload and wouldnt work in the rain or humidity. these guns never surpassed or replaced their long bows effectiveness
@@terrycruise-zd5twany idiot can be trained to fire a gun accurately. A bow takes a lot more training.
"Oh yeah!? Watch me reload my SWORD!"
The artistic details are melodic. . .
Also seen being used by a rope tied front and back and tenshioned by passing the rope under a foot making a triangle, weird but there's plenty of illustrations showing this method.also this is missing the pan cover you can see the pivot hole just Infront of the bowl .I was using a matchlock at a reenactment in Tewkesbury this weekend nice to see one on this channel
I heard there's a 1/3 chance that a single shot from it will summon a tornado that can suck in your enemies, making it rain down ammo and supplies lmao 🤣
Alas, the engravings offer no tactical advantage whatsoever.
I don’t have enough Drebin points to afford that thing damn
@@Dylan-MEYE HAVE YOU
Beat me to it.
when the gear is metal
The detailing on the barrel is beautiful.
What a piece of art
Minor correction at 0:20
The Japanese weren't introduced to firearms in 1534 by the Portuguese, as they only came into contact with each other in the year 1543. Otherwise thank you for this informative video
ah, dyslexia strikes again 😂
I just know that there was firearm useage before in the form of hand cannons, and if i remember, instances where chinese matchlocks made their way there. didn't catch on sadly
These were also used by the ashigaru, which were light infantry troops. I saw a couple of videos of japanese reenactors firing these guns and I noticed two things: 1- The match is not so firmly attached to the cock, it always falls out of the cock each time by the blast coming from the pan upon firing. 2-The gunner carried a lot of match and, most of it, is wrapped in a spool or hoop around the left forearm. Some of these guns had a slightly longer stock so you can rest it on your shoulder blade. Tanegashima gunners, whether samurai or ashigaru, carried swords as a backup weapon. On a side note, the katana as most people know it, the one that is carried tucked on the belt or sash, blade facing up, is the uchigatana and it started up as a sword for these light infantrymen. Again, as a backup weapon, easier to carry, easier to draw fast when they had to ditch their long range weapon (bow or gun), or their polearm broke or had to fight indoors. Samurai, when firearms arrived, still fought mostly on horseback and used a fancier swords like the tachi, usually tied to the armour or belt via suspenders, with the blade facing down, or slung on the back in the case of the longer swords.
Tachi was made as a cavalry sword for the Samurai, due to the length. Also, with how the Tachi was worn, it was actually done for the horse's comfort. As for the longer sword... that was the Nadachi (also called Odachi) and that was primarily fought on foot, due to the weight of the weapon. Think of the Nadachi as the Samurai equivalent to the German Zweihander or Scottish Claidheamh da Laimh. (and quick fun fact, the Scottish Claidheamh Mor, while meaning great sword, actually referred to the Scottish Basket Hilt Broadsword, and referred to its utility instead of size. Claidheamh da Laim meant Two-Handed Sword)
I was just in Matsumoto last week and was fortunate enough to be there the day a matchlock demonstration was taking place. It was amazing to see a variety of these old guns in action, from pistols to literal handheld canons. Matsumoto Castle has an astounding collection of antique Japanese firearms on display, definitely worth visiting if you are interested in this part of history!
I'm surprised Gun Jesus had not made a Tanegashima video until today
I did not expect to find this so interesting! Thanks Ian
Excellent overview. Seeing Japanese craftsmanship is alsways a a pleasure.
I think it would be Cool to have Ian do a collaboration with his father on those time he decides to release a video about Japanese guns!!! 🤠👍
So if it is the standard matchlock for Japan over 3 centuries, did that make it the longest serving service firearm for a country?
As I understand it, probably not because the tanegashima were so different to each other. Patterned service weapons (rifles, swords
etc.) are only really a thing starting in the late 1700s and really the 1800s when mass manufacturing of the same object really kicks off. A trooper's 1795 Light Cavalry Saber for example will not have significant differences by region or in materials like a tanegashima.
Interesting. As I understand it, there wasn't a standing army for the nation per se, rather just soldiers for daimyo (warlords).
As Ian mentions in the video, this was a class of firearms, not a standardized pattern. If you think of a service firearm, you might think of something like the Brown Bess or Mosin-Nagant.
This is not it. They were not standardized, centrally produced or kept to a set pattern, they were an entire kettle of varying examples produced by independent craftsmen all over the country and were pretty much only significantly united by having the same firing mechanism
Tanegashima as a term is about as encompassing as the general concept of a flintlock musket.
I see Ian's been watching Shogun.
Hello Ian!
While I enjoy all the videos on your channel, I am much more of a History geek than a gun geek, and I have to say I definitely have a weak spot for those "historical gun" videos. They're always beautiful pieces and you do great work explaining them.
Cheers!
The thing to keep in mind is the vast majority were used by ashigaru, whose more simplified armor likely would be able to shoulder one. In this case it's more likely a case of simply copying the form factor and then developing techniques around it.
Also, the _watagami_ - the plate on the front of the shoulder straps of the _do_ would have been acceptable to butt a firearm against; the _sode_, as they would when shooting a bow, have tipped back to allow more shoulder movement, and not been in the way.
@seanmalloy7249 Also can't forget bushi already were already familiar with taking off a helmet, sleeve, and shoulder plate before using the bow.
What kind of simplified armor are you talking about? Nevertheless you are right that that armor is not the reason for the stock being like that. It’s derived from earlier guns of the era. Most Ashigaru won’t even have much armor in the first place.
@@hugom2418 No sode, haidate, or kabuto. Lighter kote and suneate. Varied, to be sure, but that's a general setup.
@@SuperiorAutocraft Sounds about right to me! Just wanted to make sure you weren’t referring to massed nimai okegawa dou and jingasa type gear, as that’s mostly a 1600s and later development. Cheers mate
More of this please!!
this felt like a classic forgotten weapons video, i loved it.
I've seen those used in a samurai gunnery reenactment event in Matsumoto, Japan just last week. There's even a whole floor dedicated to guns in Japan in the castle. Highly recommend it if you want to learn more about those guns.
Also worth mentioning that family crest on the top of the tanegashima is called a mon, which is like the European equivalent of heraldry, in Japan these are particularly signs of a specific clan, that clan being a regional hierarchical ruling family, with the leader of the largest landholding families known as the Daimyo; in English we usually call these people "feudal lords". Amazingly many of these clans from that period still exist today, with some of them being run as modern corporations, still using the same symbols.
I thought it might be possible to trace the weapon's origin from the crest, but when I went on a Japanese heraldry site and looked it up, a ton of different families, sub-families and unconnected little branch families were apparently using the same crest. No dice, lol.
OG Mossberg Shockwave!
I find the tanegashima and the jazail to be wonderful looking old arms with their curiously shaped stocks and marvelous little embellishments.
The Milwaukee Public Museum has some really nice specimens in their collection.
Watching Shogun, now this has really gotten me into early guns lately.
i have been waiting for this for ages
finally
A.k.a. Teppo
It's so cool for a usually modern firearms channel to feature arquebuses
Excellent return on my Patreon. Last week I watched an historical series on the Samurai and it covered how these weapons became popular.
Ever since I was bitten by the BP bug years back, I always wanted a Teppo/Tanegashima. Maybe with the Shogun series, we’ll see during replicas hit the market
I believe you can a decent reproduction of a matchlock rifle at this Canadian importer who sells rifles importable to America. Their called Military Heritage on the web( internet).
I believe Dixie Gun Works made a reproduction years ago. However, the funny thing is that original Tangeshimas are both more common and cheaper than the reproductions in my experience. I own an original Tangeshima that I bought for a reasonable price, but it has some missing parts and a cracked stock. Despite that, I have actually fired the gun a couple times.
@@TreeWizard648 Dixie got theirs about 15 years ago from Pedersoli who hasn't made a copy in about 5 years. Yes, I keep up on ancient blackpowder guns since I enjoy shooting all blackpowder firearms from different periods of time.
What a beautiful near-mythical flintlock gun, it must be the master work of a Japanese gunsmith.
I believe it is said that when fired in a certain place, there is a chance that a divine wind will blow...
Matchlock not a flintlock
Fuck, I just posted something like this because I didn’t see anyone else making the reference.
You’re pretty good.
@@Dan-be7iu you’re correct, but he’s quoting something.
It's an amazingly beautiful weapon. You can tell a lot of work went into crafting it. I had to go watch them being fired, and it's pretty cool to witness. Great video.
for broader history, check out the sengoku jidai. it was the warring period that was active around the time tanegashima were about and would have been the the most formative period for them.
2:20 regarding the handgun version, there is said to be "sword saint" so skilled that he can fire them semi-auto
They did make a few tanegashima that had turret cylinders, so maybe Lord Isshin had one of those?
Ah yes, The Glock Saint Isshin
@@discipleofsound4565 In a video by Zullie the Witch you can see it's a flintlock pistol with one barrel.
I read a theory that it was made by Dogen (who also made the Shinobi Prosthetic), so it must be some kind of medieval japanese magic.
(or maybe Isshin is so fast he reloads it in .25 sec?)
“Come Sekiro!”
-Glock Saint Isshin
Amazing how I've been playing Total War Shogun 2 recently and then Ian releases this
Not because of a specific TV series? 😂
@@Alte.Kameraden Whaaaaat? Noooooo
@@Alte.Kameraden Shogun2 players are different breed. They are either trying live their weeb fantasies in Vanilla or reenact Last Samurai to unrealistic degree and ofcourse ARMSTRONG GUNS.
@@madkoala2130 Gekokujo mod for M&B Warband for me. Vastly superior to Shogun 2 personally. Definitely with mods that add more content/armor/weapons/buildings. Imagine Shogun 2 but you're also fighting shoulder to shoulder with your men. For me Naginata+Bow+Tachi are my favorite weapon combo to use.
My lord.. a glorious victory will soon be yours!
An actual Tanegashima is one of my unicorn guns, right up there with the Jezail and original Kentucky Longrifle.
European armor on the overhand sometimes had an extra plate attached to the cuirass made to make it easier to shoulder matchlocks in armor.
Shooting these is still considered a martial art in Japan
Glorious nippon steel, wrapped around a couple of times.
Nippon steel is trying to buy US Steel right now
The slow match used to ignite these is made from braided hemp cord. The cord is boiled in a solution of wood ashes (potash, or potassium carbonate) to remove the lignin. Lignin is what gives rope its strength, but it also creates a lot of ash and interferes with burning. The match can be used after “bucking” and drying, but it can also be soaked in saltpeter (potassium nitrate) or lead acetate to make it burn hotter.
It ends up burning like the end of a cigar. If made right it forms a glowing red cone.
The Japanese developed little oiled paper umbrellas and boxes to protect the match from the rain.
I may be wrong, but I understand that Japan lacks any major deposits of flint or iron pyrite that would be necessary for flintlocks or wheellocks. During its period of isolation Japan wanted to be as self sufficient as possible.
I have a replica matchlock teppo that I occasionally shoot. It’s as accurate as any other smoothbore, but with a straight octagonal barrel like that one and no buttstock it gets nose heavy. A lot of the barrels of these teppo were tapered, with an acorn style finial at the muzzle. Much easier to hold up.
The barrel style on this is kind of a mismatch with all the decoration. Generally the so called “number guns” (simple armory guns for soldiers) had straight octagon barrels and no decoration.
I can shoot much better with my replica 1620s English matchlock caliver, with its fishtail buttstock. Less wobble.
Shooting this in Metal Gear Solid 4 and seeing a massive tornado sweep up enemies was just amazing👌
At some point during the Warring States period the various warlords of japan as a whole outgunned even the Europeans for a time due to the amount of matchlocks that were locally produced as time went on.
If I remember correctly, the Japanese copied the firearms from a portugese light arquebuses, which buttstocks are designed same way to use on cheeks instead shoulders...
Not really. They copied it from east asians. Teppo doesn't look purtuguese at all.
East asian? I didnt remember Chinese using matchlock during this era
@@vlexonkol8466 well, you can't remember, cause you never lived then. All you have to do is to google it.
Chinese were indeed using matchlocks in 16th century just like almost any other nation in Asia. Its unclear where they got them from, because the sources are conflicting. Even back then, chinese couldn't figure out the history of the decades they had with various theories where the guns came from. Some claim its Turkey, some claim its Portugal, but considering how slow technology moved around then, its probably a bit of both. Goa matchlocks, which look exactly like the ones japanese used, were developed out of portuguese guns, but the design elements are more that of the rest of asian matchlocks like those in Tibet or Mongolia.
Beautiful gun, and the "cheek gun" aspect is neat! That barrel construction method is pretty wild too. Thanks for another great video, glad you got your hands on this cool bit of history.
Awesome gun, more please! Thank you Ian❤
これは。。。外国人向けに作った安い火縄銃です笑。
見かけは豪華ですが、大阪の堺と言う街で大量生産されました。
この銃身は日本の滋賀県の国友と言う工房が作った銃身だと思います。
銃身を外すと刀の様に銘が彫ってる場合も多いので絶対チェックすべきです。
侍が使った火縄銃は『侍筒（SamuraiTutu）』と言い、キャリバーサイズの短めの銃身で口径が大きいく、分厚い頑丈な銃身の銃が多かったでした。
武士が使う銃では、大名から貸し出される形が多かったので、盗難防止用管理の為の通し番号やマークが多くのパーツに彫られてました。
日本の火縄銃にはロックシステムに多彩な種類があり、トリガープルを6種類調整出来る仕組みの銃もあります。
日本語上手
And lots of good info.
@@SuperiorAutocraft
日本に住んで日本人なので笑
どんな言語でも母語か第二言語かで全く違うから分かるだろ普通
OMG, tornado gun from MGS4
He should go to Japan and visit the Nagahama matchlock museum; it was one of the major matchlock producers and have a lot to peruse.
Great. As always a mine of information and a knack for arousing viewer's curiosity.
It's interesting that according to Tokugawa Ieyasu, the long barrelled Tanegashima was a peasant's weapon. When he was presented with the "dragoons" of Date Masamune's army, and the carbines and pistols they used, he thought them much more befitting of a samurai.
There's an interesting parallel with Europe, and how officers there would carry pistols rather than long guns, as a status symbol as much as as a weapon.
That was certainly true in the Sengoku period, when Tanegeshima/hinawaju were made to a simpler standard than this for teppo ashigaru troops. By the time guns like this were being made (18th-Early 19th century), the finely-decorated long guns were very much made for samurai (many of whom were not especially wealthy or 'elite' by this time).
Samurai really liked to show off with big swords and warrior wielding nodachi was revered as ruthless fearsome and all around cool manly man. When firearms were introduced they mirrored that practice and some samurai would brandish comically oversized matchlocks to gain street cred and cool points. Over time it resulted in developing of truly monstrous guns known as O-zutsu which is more of handheld mortar/cannon than firearm. Initially gun like that were meant to be used from a stationary mount on a ship or castle wall but some samurai looked at it and thought "Yoooo that would be so cool if i make this into teppo" and here we are.
Here is the picture.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Cdzutsu#/media/File:Kuniyoshi_Utagawa,_The_actor_17.jpg
Truly impressive how they reverse engineered guns almost instantly upon encountering them, and achieved an utterly massive levels of production in just a decade
Why wouldn't they had? They were an advanced East Asian culture with a population the same size as France at the time.
@@kovona Because Japan had a weird tendency to stay completely isolated and slowly become backwards compared to everyone else, then get access to tech and instantly modernize before isolating again.
Had technical help too
@@kovona Most other places around the world were very slow to adapt Western technology. In some places, the locals might have encountered Western or Asian guns for hundreds of years, yet they wouldn´t start producing guns themselves. So yeah the speed of the Japanese was impressive.
With the aid of the Portuguese yeah. Couldn't figure out breech plug construction without
Awesome review of an interesting piece of firearms history.
The japanese have their own gunpowder technology prior to the incident where a portuguese ship stranded in Tanegashima and what impressed them wasn't so much as concept of firearm itself (they knew what handcannon was from Yuan dynasty China) but the lock mechanism that allow these arquebus to be less fiddly and more practical.
Heck, I didn't even know that the samurai had guns!
Pretty much the moment guns were introduced to Japan, the samurai adopted them.
More than guns they also refined the loading and aiming process into a martial art with each version of the matchlock getting it’s own unique technique
it became an art, like kendo, kyudo, firing guns became an art in japan for quite literally ages. hunting with these were also prominent until uncle sam came knocking
They even made bullet proofed armour and bought bullet proofed armour from Europeans
Also they out gunned a lot of Europeans during the late 16-17th centuries because of how many the Japanese produced
@@xirensixseo The hunting actually was part of the reason why people don’t remember the way of the gun, apparently after going into isolation many Samurai, Daimyō, and even some of the Shoguns dismissed them as just for hunting, meaning that they were lax in their gunnery drills, something that they probably regretted when Parry showed up, even armed with matchlocks the Samurai and the Ashigaru would have at least looked a little more competent when compared to the Marines and Blue Jackets of the US Navy, it might not have mattered much in the negotiations, but it might have at least been a little better for their pride.
Tanegashima Matchlocks are my favorite matchlocks.
What a coincidence, I just bought one last week that had the percussion conversion.
Impressive looking rifle. Learned something new today, the short stock was held with a cheek weld.
The idea that samurai hated guns is so wrong I wonder where the myth even started
The next video: the matchlock Gatling submachine gun in 9x18mm
Blud did not Just call the Sengoku Battle Royale a case of "Domestic Unrest". Wild.
Nice to see a pre- 20th century gun again.
The lid used to protect the parts that keep the chamber filled with black powder for igniting the chamber is called a 'hibuta (火蓋)' in Japanese, and the idiom 'hibuta wo kiru (lit. open hibutas)', meaning the start of some kind of battle, is still used today as a metaphor.
Really interesting. Please more of that!
One of my favorite muzzleloaders! Thank you so much for talking about one of these!
“This one is relatively small caliber. It’s .50 cal.”
🤨 you have my attention.
There's a CZcams channel called Gun Samurai. English bloke in Japan. He belongs to Matsumoto Castle Gun Corps. Loads of info on Japanese firearms & very cool displays.
In my country (Argentina) japanese matchlocks are normally known as "teppos" and that is a beautiful example, I love the decorations specially the Fu lion on the stock! About the asian style no-shoulder cheek stocks, those fit well with the samurai armor as said in the video, but all far-asian arquebuses from different cultures have that fire-from-the-cheek type stock, so it's not a samurai thing. Also some japanese gunsmiths were aware of the existence of more advanced systems and manufactured custom guns, even made disguised small carry pistols with some form of percussion lock.
Teppo is a far more correct term compared to tanegashima!