Viper6924

Well, to me it looks to be a quite good-looking matchlock. It’s of course missing some parts like the rain-protection. The pancover looks ”modified”. The end of the rifle-butt suggests that this is Tazuke-ryu matchlock. The shape of the barrel might also suggest that this gun was made in Hino, which is close to Kunitomo. You might want to wait for the seller to drop the price a bit futher. Jan

The large dragon, currently in Tokyo National Museum, was previously owned by the former president of the Swedish branch of NBTHK. To my knowledge there are still some amazing examples of these pieces of art, within the borders to Sweden. They are truly amazing! Jan

With the same order of invocation as on the kabuto highlighted in this thread. Malcolm; as the master of the gods and kami, I would love to know the reasons why the vocations are in this order. As a warrior, I would probably have opted to honor Hachiman with the central position. Jan

With the same order of invocation as on the kabuto highlighted in this thread. Malcolm; as the master of the gods and kami, I would love to know the reasons why the vocations are in this order. As a warrior, I would probably have opted to honor Hachiman with the central position. Jan

After focusing in on the pictures I see that the flower decorations is not sakura at all. But it looks nice anyway Jan

I think this looks like a very health matchlock. Got several features besides the signature that points towards Kunitomo. The caliber looks to be just in the border region between hunting and military grade. I think the decorations at the backend of the gun might have been added later together with the brass bands. As there are four healthy mekugi-pins, these bands are purely decorative. I belive the decoration near the pan is of a sakura flower as are the flowers around the mekugi. This you sometimes see on guns made in the Osaka-region. Perhaps this gun was made in Kunitomo and then shipped off to Osaka to be sold and there getting the added decorations? Nice shape to the pan. Also liking the shape of the rear sight. A very good first buy! Welcome to the club Jan

The red Ecchu-zubari is really thick and heavy. I’ve held it a few times, so I know. Uwe, nice picture of the inside of the bachi. Looks like the wearer might have lived to fight another day. Jan

Yes, I’ve seen that smashed kabuto before. If worn during battle, I wonder if the wearer survived? It’s like the modern day race cars made to crumble in order to absorb the energy of the impact. Did this kabuto absorb enough energy to stop the ball entering the skull? That’s the million dollar question! Uwe, can you give us a damage Koboshi Jan

Orikasa writes something interesting about the 62-ken kabuto: ”Well, it is also assumed that the 62 plate Koboshi kabuto were made as a countermeasure against the teppo, and I heard from people testing matchlocks on them that they have great buffering against bullets”. So according to Orikasa, there have been tests done on Koboshi kabuto. I would really love to know more about these tests. What kind of Koboshi kabuto was used? What kind of matchlock, caliber, amount of black powder and distance to the target was in use. Jan

Dr. Carl Friday found over 1400 recorded battle injuries between 1500-1600 where a date and a reason for the injury/death was recorded. During the period 1500-1562 there were 0 reports about injury/death by way of firearm. The bow was the deadliest weapon during this period. During 1563-1600 we see that the firearm takes center stage. And I’m fairly certain that the majority of those injuries/death was caused between 1565-1590. After 1590 the wars were pretty much over and Sekigahara is not included in this study. So again, new armour-technology initiated after the middle of 1560s was most likely designed due to the teppo’s advance over Japan. The Akoda-nari is said to have been rejected due to its weak construction. But is there any reliable records to support this or is this a modern theory? Holding a true Muromachi Akoda-nari in your hands def support that impression, but again, can we find records that support this ”feeling”? Again, a very interesting topic involving several fields of study. Jan

This is turning into a very interesting topic with several valid points. As has already been stated, the development of the teppo goes hand in hand with contemporary developments within the field of Japanese armour. As I showed during my presentation in Berlin, before 1562, Dr Carl Friday didn’t manage to find a single reported injury/death caused by a teppo. This is of course not saying that no one got hit by a matchlock-ball before that, but it def points in one direction, which is, before the end of the 1560s the teppo wasn’t such an important weapon that some scholars claim it was. So with the above in mind, I think it’s fairly safe to say that armour constructed pro 1565-1570 had to been developed with focus on stopping a matchlock-ball. Hence, new style of armour made before the above mentioned years, was constructed for some other reasons. Jan

Peter is spot on regarding the flask. And the pistol is a modern construction. Both to be avoided. Jan

Nice Zunari, Javier! It’s such a classic style of kabuto. Ian; do we know if Yoshimichi stopped making 32 and 62 plate kabuto all together after he started to forge the 8-plate kabuto? It’s interesting if there are no extant Yoshimichi 32 or 62 ken kabuto made after he began working his 8-plate kabuto. The reason for that seems quite obvious. Jan

Great work with the signature, Piers! I think the shape of the stock, the rings around the pins, the rather small trigger guard all supports the notion of a 17th century matchlock. Looking forward to some better pictures when you get the matchlock. Jan

Thanks Morita-san for sharing the info about this interesting catalouge. Looks to be showing a quite wide range of items focusing on the amazing sword collection. Might need to track down a copy. Jan

Always interesting to read peoples opinion on the early use of firearms in Japan. This one didn’t bring very much new to the table. But his scepticism to the importance placed on matchlocks very early on is somewhat refreshing. This almost manic obsession from the West regarding volleys fired by matchlock-units is almost comical. Most Japanese scholars shake their heads in bemusement over this. The construction of the matchlock pretty much negates any such deployment. Well, unless you bring a huge amount of matchlocks to a battlefield, which never happened until the 1580-90s. I also noticed that most of the references is getting quite old. New research is needed to really understand 16th century warfare in Japan. Jan

I was told by a very knowledgeable person in Japan to always light some top-quality incense every time a new item arrived from Japan. A way to honor the original owners. Jan

Taking into account that I usually bring with me unloaded matchlocks to our meetings, this razor-sharp sword might indeed warrent some sort of protections for my dear colleagues at the club :) Jan

For once I will be bringing a sword with me Jan

A well-written article and a very sound comment by Piers. I always had a slight problem with the notion that the samurai ”gave up” their guns. They never gave up the gun, they gave up the quest to develope more modern guns. And when I say ”they” I of course mean the Tokugawa shogunate. The single thing occupying the mind of the shogunate during the Edo period was to keep the status que that they thought was the way to keep them in power. They had no interests what so ever to invite new technology that might change this. However, the quest to develope the matchlock, was continued in many domains during this period. The main aim was to create long-range matchlocks. I have a matchlock made in 1864. After a quick inspection, it doesn’t take long to realise that the Japanese pushed the envelope regarding the matchlock as far as they could. It’s the perfect matchlock in every way. That the rest of the modern world had moved on, was quite apparently of no concern to the local samurai that ordered this specific gun. Jan

Thanks for your kind words, Anthony. It means a lot to hear that the content is well received. These encouragements will fuel my future projects. Jan

Oh dear God! Someone taken a perfectly good Seki-ryu Tan zutsu and ruined it. I hope there is a special place in matchlock hell reserved for the person who did that to the barrel. Is that paint? And what to say about RI Auction? 10-15000 dollar. Well, I guess they are in dire need of a matchlock appraiser... Jan

The last 10 Monme Seki-ryu matchlock I saw for sale was at an auctionhouse in London. It was a very similar looking gun to the one you have, Bob. If my memory doesn’t fail me the asking price was set to around £4000. It didn’t get any bids so I guess the market didn’t agree with that price. The question of decoration vs non-decoration is an interesting one. I guess it was often down to personal taste of the person ordering the gun. But as Piers says, military-grade matchlocks tend to be less decorated than hunting and practise guns. Bling or not to bling, that’s the question Jan

You welcome, Bob! This is one of the main reasons behind this forum; to share information and assist whenever possible. Malcolm, thanks for your kind words. You know they are appreciated! Jan (sometimes it’s hard hitting the right key)

Next time please sign with your real name. Makes for a much more friendly forum. Well, I must say that you’ve done very well for a beginners gun. What you have there is a very healthy looking 10-monme Seki-ryu matchlock. A quite rare style of matchlock. The first model was made shortly after the Summer-siege of 1615 by a former retainer of the Yonezawa domain by the name of Seki Hachiza’emon Yukinobu. He more or less copied the design from his Sensei in Yonezawa. This particular stule of matchlock was made all through the Edo period. Elongated trigger guard and an iron ramrod is first and foremost what makes this gun stand out amongst other matchlocks. I’m sure the signature on top of the barrel can be translated by someone gifted in the Japanese language. As to books, the output is rather limited. I would rec Sugawa-san’s book ”The Japanese Matchlock 1” as a behinners book in English. If you look carefully here under the Matchlock-section of this forum you will be able to find another book in English that might help you further your knowledge regarding matchlocks Congrats to a very nice first gun. Wish I’d been as lucky back when I stated collect matchlocks. Jam